Grzimek's Animal Life

In 1968 Bernhard Grzimek, the famous zoologist and Director of the Frankfort Zoo, published the Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Gale updated the print set in 2004, including new articles and commissioning additional images. Grzimek's Animal Life on the web provides students and researchers with a dynamic, interactive resource that fosters more discussion and critical thinking skills. This product uses the content from the encyclopedia to provide unequaled coverage on more than 4,000 species, and includes more than 11,000 images, videos, illustrations, and maps.

We have just added Grzimeks Animal Life to our database collection which will allow students to explore and learn in addition to supporting their academic research.

Visit www.gale.com/wildthings for a video preview.

NoveList Notes - Classics for December

Happy Holidays!

What exactly is a “classic” novel? Does a book become a classic after a certain number of copies are sold, like an album going platinum? Are books deemed classics by a consensus of literary experts, or are classics generally accepted as such? If experts disagree, can a title still be considered a classic?

We might not be able to agree on what defines a book as a “classic,” but NoveList can
help you find popular titles that never seem to grow old. Readers’ Advisory experts
have compiled several lists to help you find them in various genres for all reading levels.
If your student or patron isn’t nearly as animated about reading as you’d like, try enticing them with a classic. If so many others have read and loved these books, chances are pretty good that they’ll love them too. For your younger, choosier patrons, NoveList experts have put together five Curricular Connections that include classics for every reading level:

Classics: Kids
Classics: Must-Read Classics for Kids
Classics: Must-Reads (teens)
Classics: Teens
Great Stories: Classics for the High School Reader

To get to any of these lists:

1. Enter the title in the Find box on the homepage.
2. Select the Title radio button. Click Search.
3. Select the Curricular Connections tab above the result list.

NoveList content can help you become an instant expert if you’re asked for titles in a genre that you don’t typically read. Not a True Crime reader? No problem! Enter “TI classic* True Crime” in the Find box, click Search, and Voila! You’ve pleased your patron, and they’ll never know that you haven't really read Ann Rule. This same technique will help you find lists for other genres as well. You’ll find great lists by searching “TI classic* Romance” or “TI classic* Adventure.”
Unfortunately, all classics do have one inherent flaw: you’ve probably already read them! Of course, we at NoveList think ahead, and we’ve provided a solution for this as well. The Adult Recommended Reads list, “Classics Revisited,” is a collection of alternate versions of popular classics.

“Another Time, Another Place: Classic Readalikes and Retellings Set in a Contemporary or Alternate Time” suggests adaptations and retellings of classic stories including fairy tales, folklore, Shakespeare’s plays, and literary classics. This Curricular Connections article also provides tips on how you can incorporate these readalikes into your curriculum. If you’d rather watch your novels than read them, look for “Made Into Movies: Classics” to experience some old favorites in a new way.

You can find any of the articles mentioned by entering the title in the Find bar, selecting Title, and clicking Search. From the result list, select the appropriate feature tab.

This year, give yourself the gift of knowledge and Join NoveList for one of their December training sessions to brush up on your NoveList search skills.

Facebook and Twitter 'Share' Functionality now Available at OverDrive

To provide users with a more interactive experience, OverDrive has added the functionality to post details about a download title to the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. For more information on these social networking sites, please visit www.facebook.com and www.twitter.com.
Postings on Facebook will include a brief description of a title, jacket cover, URL to a title’s details page on our download website, as well as an optional personal comment. Twitter posts will include a brief “tweet” on downloading the book from our website, as well as a link to our download collection. It is our hope that this interactive feature will help us increase awareness and maximize circulation of our download service.

Overdrive and EPUB format

I am happy to report that the EPUB format is now live at the Tampa Bay Library Consortium site!
I am sure that your patrons will enjoy this new format as well as the Share feature linking to Facebook and Twitter.

In addition, the Overdrive Digital Bookmobile will be coming to the Bloomingdale Branch Library on December 18th, 2009. Now that Overdrive also offers the new EPUB format, compatible with the Sony Reader, we expect usage to increase. So look for these exciting new features when you visit the Overdrive site!

EBSCO's Continuous Pandemic H1N1Coverage

Early in September, as public concern about Pandemic H1N1 and the upcoming flu season began to grow, the medical and nursing editors from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) responded by offering the latest evidence-based, flu-related information for free.

As the pandemic expands, they continue to offer free flu information resources, located at www.ebscohost.com/flu. They are pleased to provide public support via continuously updated, evidence-based clinical information from DynaMed and Nursing Reference Center, EBSCO's clinical and nursing point-of-care databases, along with patient education information in 17 languages from Patient Education Reference Center.

You can visit this site often, and share, post, and email this link to your colleagues, family and friends.

BookLetters

Stay Connected with the latest titles, hottest authors, current award winners, and timely media by signing up for BookLetters newsletter e-mails. By signing up for BookLetters you will gain access to online book discussions, the hottest new titles and authors, professional reviews of the titles you want to know about, and even some staff recommendations. You can even reserve the books right from your e-mails.


Check out our links below to discover the latest in bestsellers, award winners and author profiles, and be sure to signup for the BookLetters e-newsletters of your choice.



http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/addnluser.html?sid=5978

http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/fealists.html?sid=5978

http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/authordir.html?sid=5978

New NetLibrary eBook Subject Sets Available

New eBooks were recently added to our NetLibrary collection. Titles in the areas of Business, Contemporary and Social Issues, Going Green, and Money saving tips, just to name a few, were added. Below are various titles of some the new eBooks recently added to our collection.

Business Math for Dummies
Brand Meaning
Advertising for Dummies
Effective Business Writing
Guide to Financial Management

Cloning: A Beginner's guide
Becoming Good Ancestors
Drugs and Justice
Dog-friendly dog training
The complete Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy guide

Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution
Green Cleaning for Dummies
Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies
Your Eco-friendly Home

Recession-proof Your Financial Life
Style on Shoestring
Ask Arthur Frommer & Travel better, Cheaper, Smarter
How to Buy a Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting your Money's Worth
Mortgage Myths: 77 secrets that will save you thousand on Home and Financing

eBooks are a great way to keep up with authoritative, front list titles on a wide range of subjects!

NewsBank HOT TOPICS

November 2009 HOT TOPICS in the NewsBank Database:

· These topics are posted on the NewsBank menu page, under the Other NewsBank Products link.

CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH TOPICS:

ECONOMICS: New Home Sales Drop
TOPIC: After rising for 5 months, new home sales dropped in September. What is the primary reason given for this unexpected drop? How is the information to track this trend gathered?
SEARCH TERMS: home sales AND Commerce Department

SPORTS: Yankees Make Their 40th World Series Appearance
TOPIC: The New York Yankees will be making their 40th appearance in this year's World Series. What have been some of the most exciting Series games that they have participated in? Who are some of the most famous players in the history of the team, and what are their claims to fame? What is significant about the team that they are playing against?
SEARCH TERMS: Yankees AND World Series

Civics, Government and Politics: Taliban Attacks
TOPIC: An armed assault on a guesthouse used by the UN and other international organizations left five UN workers and three Afghan civilians dead. It was later followed by rocket attacks on a hotel used by foreigners. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Do attacks within the capital city indicate weakness on the part of the government? Is the fact they are aimed at outsiders important? Are these attacks aimed at influencing the upcoming presidential runoff election?
SEARCH TERMS: Afghanistan AND attacks AND Taliban

CRIME AND LAW: NASA Launches New Rocket
TOPIC: NASA has launched its new experimental test rocket the Ares I-X. What is the purpose of this prototype rocket? What are the difficulties that NASA originally had with the launch of this rocket?
SEARCH TERMS: NASA AND Ares IX

CRIME AND LAW: Distracted Pilots
TOPIC: Two Northwest Airlines pilots have had their licenses revoked for spending time on laptop computers rather than paying attention to their instrument panels. What was the result of their distracted flying? What are some other examples of pilot distraction that could put a flight at risk?
SEARCH TERMS: pilot AND Northwest Airlines

SOCIAL STUDIES RESEARCH TOPICS:

Civics, Government and Politics: Political Endorsements
TOPIC: President Obama will be appearing with Virginia gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds, and Sarah Palin is endorsing New York's Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman for Congress. What is at risk when a national politician endorses a candidate? What are some of the specific factors in these races that make the endorsements so interesting to political analysts?
SEARCH TERMS: political AND endorsements
Civics, Government and Politics: Political Violence in Iraq
TOPIC: Political violence has picked up in advance of upcoming elections in Iraq with multiple car bombings occurring. Who is responsible for the bombings? What are their aims?
SEARCH TERMS: Iraq AND bombings OR elections
Civics, Government and Politics: Elections in Africa
TOPIC: Mozambicans went to the polls to choose members of Parliament and a President. Armando Guebuza, the current President, was re-elected. His party, Frelimo, has held power for the past 34 years. How did it first come to power? How has it retained popularity? How effective has it been as a governing power?
SEARCH TERMS: Mozambique AND elections
Civics, Government and Politics: Elections in Afghanistan
TOPIC: A runoff election has been announced in Afghanistan, after a U.N. commission determined that widespread voter fraud lead to Hamid Karzai's re-election as president. How did they determine this? How difficult is it to have an election in Afghanistan?
SEARCH TERMS: Afghanistan AND runoff election

CRIME AND LAW: FBI and Translators
TOPIC: The FBI has lost translators resulting in a growing backlog of audio intelligence documents that could involve terror plots. What are some factors that make it difficult to hire new translators? What action is being taken to help with this problem?
SEARCH TERMS: FBI AND translators
CRIME AND LAW: Radovan Karadzic
TOPIC: Radovan Karadzic is representing himself against charges of war crimes, but he refuses to attend the trial claiming a lack of time to prepare for his defense.
What are the charges against him? How should the judge react to his absence?
SEARCH TERMS: Radovan Karadzic AND trial

ECONOMICS: Recession in the United Kingdom
TOPIC: Figures released after the third quarter of 2009 show that the United Kingdom remains in recession. It has been in recession for six quarters in a row. What were analysts expecting the numbers to be? How does Britain's performance compare with other European economies?
SEARCH TERMS: United Kingdom AND recession
ECONOMICS: Dow Jones Surpasses 10,000
TOPIC: For the first time in a year the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 10,000. What has been the impact of this on investors? Why is this number significant?
SEARCH TERMS: Dow Jones AND 10,000

EDUCATION: Greater Accountability in Medical Education
TOPIC: The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education is investigating classes and companies that violate rules against commercial bias. What pattern has spurred this investigation? What are the current medical education requirements for a doctor to keep their accreditation?
SEARCH TERMS: health care AND accountability

HISTORY: New Brazilian Commission
TOPIC: Brazil seems ready to appoint a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate what happened to opponents of its military government in the 1960s and 1970s. What do commissions like this do? What other countries have used this way of researching the past? Has the process worked in those countries?
SEARCH TERMS: Brazil AND Truth and Reconciliation Commission
HISTORY: John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
TOPIC: It has been 150 years since John Brown raided Harper's Ferry in protest of slavery. What is the background of John Brown? What were some of his previous acts against slavery?
SEARCH TERMS: John Brown

SOCIAL ISSUES: President Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize
TOPIC: President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What was the response to President Obama and others to this choice? What was the reason behind the choice, and how does it compare to past recipients?
SEARCH TERMS: Nobel AND Obama AND Peace

SCIENCE AND HEALTH RESEARCH TOPICS

ENVIRONMENT: Climate Plan and Rust Belt
TOPIC: The upper Midwest, which has been hit especially hard by the recession, is concerned about President Obama's climate plan. What aspects of the plan are this region most concerned about, and why? What industries would be most impacted, and how?
SEARCH TERMS: climate plan AND rust belt
ENVIRONMENT: Earthquake in Indonesia
TOPIC: Indonesia suffered from another earthquake. It measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, but it did not set off a tsunami. What is the Richter scale? What does it measure? Who devised it? What other events are measured in similar fashion?
SEARCH TERMS: earthquakes AND Richter scale

HEALTH: Women's Health Needs
TOPIC: Women in the rural developing world die in childbirth in inordinate numbers. Lowering this number was one of the Millennium Development Goals. What are the conditions that drive this statistic? What can be done to improve pregnancy outcomes for these regions?
SEARCH TERMS: women AND childbirth AND death
HEALTH: Medical Marijuana
TOPIC: The federal government has decided it will no longer prosecute medical marijuana users and providers that follow state laws. What is the impact on the states with this decision? What have been some of the federal/state relations on this issue in the past?SEARCH TERMS: medical marijuana

HEALTH: Nobel Prize for Medicine
TOPIC: Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak have won the 2009 Nobel Prize for medicine. This year marks the first year that two women have shared a Nobel Prize for science. What medical research earned these winners their prize? What are some of the specifics of the science in this research?
SEARCH TERMS: Nobel Prize AND medicine

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Pliosaur Discovered
TOPIC: The eight-foot-long skull of a pliosaur was found off the coast of England. The size of the head leads to estimates that the creature would have been more than 50 feet long. What were pliosaurs? When did they live?
SEARCH TERMS: Pliosaurs
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Scientific Fraud
TOPIC: Hwang Woo-suk was found guilty of scientific fraud over his claims to have grown human embryonic stem cells. These cells could have been of great importance in treating various diseases. Why are stem cells important? What sort of diseases could be treated with them? What did Hwang do that was important, and what did he do that was wrong?
SEARCH TERMS: Hwang Woo-suk AND stem cells
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Bombing the Moon
TOPIC: In what was frequently mislabeled a bombing, two spacecrafts have crashed into the moon in an effort to find possible water supplies. Why was the crash mistaken as a bombing? What evidence was there to suggest water may exist below the surface of the moon?
SEARCH TERMS: bomb AND moon

SPORTS RESEARCH TOPICS

SPORTS: World Cup in South Africa
TOPIC: South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup, looks to improve its chances by bringing back Carlos Alberto Parreira as the coach of its national soccer team. Who is Carlos Parreira, and what are his ties with the South African national side? Who is he replacing, and why is he replacing him?
SEARCH TERMS: South Africa AND Carlos Parreira
SPORTS: Brawn and Button Are Champions
TOPIC: Jenson Button and his Brawn team have won the Formula One championship driver and team awards. What is remarkable about the Brawn team's victory? How does Formula One racing differ from NASCAR and Indy Car racing?
SEARCH TERMS: Jenson Button AND Formula One
SPORTS: Golf Added to the 2016 Olympics
TOPIC: Golf has been added to the Olympics for the 2016 Summer Games. Rugby sevens is the other new sport added. Will Olympic exposure broaden the appeal of the Games? How will the golfers who will compete be chosen? What is Rugby sevens?
SEARCH TERMS: Olympic Games AND (golf OR Rugby sevens)
SPORTS: Cardinals Hire Mark McGuire as Hitting Coach
TOPIC: Mark McGuire is the new hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. What are some high and low points in his career? What teams has he played for?
SEARCH TERMS: Mark McGuire AND hitting coach
SPORTS: Bill, The Big Whistle, Chadwick
TOPIC: Bill, The Big Whistle, Chadwick was a legendary hockey referee. What distinguished him as a referee immediately upon hire by the NHL? What handicap did he have to overcome to do his job?
SEARCH TERMS: Bill Chadwick

ARTS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH TOPICS

FILM AND TELEVISION: NCIS
TOPIC: NCIS has been topping the broadcast ratings for the fifth straight week. What has been praised as the reasons this show is so popular? What is the show about? From what series is this show a spin-off?
SEARCH TERMS: NCIS AND rating
FILM AND TELEVISION: Pusan International Film Festival
TOPIC: Asian films are featured at South Korea's Pusan Film Festival. Among other films were two set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking. What was that event and why are films about it controversial? What other films were on view at PIFF?
SEARCH TERMS: Pusan International Film Festival
FILM AND TELEVISION: New Michael Jackson Film
TOPIC: Footage taken before Michael Jackson's death of rehearsals for his planned 50 concert tour is being released in a film called Michael Jackson's This Is It. The film includes the posthumously released song of the same name. Who co-wrote this song with Michael Jackson? What is the reaction to this film from Michael Jackson's family, and why? What do you think the producers of this film wanted to accomplish in the making of this documentary?
SEARCH TERMS: Michael Jackson AND "This is It"
FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: Egypt and the Louvre Museum
TOPIC: Egypt briefly severed official ties with the Louvre Museum claiming it has refused to return stolen artifacts. It has also demanded back the bust of Nefertiti from the newly re-opened Neues Museum in Berlin. What are the reasons Egypt wants these artifacts returned? What other artifacts is it pursuing? What convention covers these museum pieces?
SEARCH TERMS: Louvre AND Egypt AND artifacts
FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: Irving Penn
TOPIC: Irving Penn was a famous photographer. What kind of photography made him famous? What is the subject of some of his most famous photographs?
SEARCH TERMS: Irving Penn
LITERATURE: The Lost Symbol
TOPIC: Dan Brown's latest book is The Lost Symbol. What themes in this thriller are consistent with the author's other work? What controversial group is central to the plot of this book?
SEARCH TERMS: Dan Brown AND Lost Symbol
LITERATURE: Nobel Prize for Literature
TOPIC: Herta Mueller, a Romanian writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. What sort of fiction does she write? What events in her life have influenced her work?
SEARCH TERMS: Herta Mueller
PERFORMING ARTS: Mercedes Sosa
TOPIC: Mercedes Sosa was an Argentinean folk singer. Why was her music a touchstone for the generation that lived through the repressive military government? What were some of her best-known songs?
SEARCH TERMS: Mercedes Sosa
PEOPLE RESEARCH TOPICS
PEOPLE: Anthony D. Marshall
TOPIC: The theatrical producer and only child of the late philanthropist Brooke Astor was arrested for the illegal handling of his mother's will and financial affairs. What are the details of his crimes? What other crime was Mr. Marshall accused of, and how did that case end?
SEARCH TERMS: Marshall AND Astor AND estate
PEOPLE: Soupy Sales
TOPIC: Soupy Sales was an early TV personality best known as host and sketch comedian on the children's show Lunch with Soupy Sales. What other programs was he known for? How did Mr. Sales begin his career? SEARCH TERMS: Soupy Sales
PEOPLE: Juanita Castro
TOPIC: Juanita Castro claims to have begun working with the CIA against her brother Fidel in 1961 and continued to do so until she fled into exile in 1964. Why did she do so? How did she contact the CIA? What was life in exile like for her?SEARCH TERMS: Juanita Castro
PEOPLE: Reinhard Mohn
TOPIC: Reinhard Mohn made the German publishing firm Bertelsmann one of the largest in the world. What were his innovations in employee relations? How did he transform his small family firm into a world-wide powerhouse?
SEARCH TERMS: Reinhard Mohn AND Bertelsmann
PEOPLE: Elinor Ostrom
TOPIC: Elinor Ostrom has won this year's Nobel Prize for Economics. What was the research that won her the prize? What are the design principals that she has proposed?
SEARCH TERMS: Elinor Ostrom

New Historical and Genealogical Database: Footnote

Footnote, a new genealogy and historical database has been added to our wealth of genealogy resources. This new database includes, census images, reference books, military records, photos, city directories, court slave records, dawes records and much more.

At Footnote.com you can view the most exciting original source documents available for the first time on the internet. Not only does Footnote help you find and share historic documents, but they are also able to bring you many never-before-seen historic documents through their unique partnerships with The National Archives, the Library of Congress and other institutions.

In addition, their patented digitization process is helping bring other collections to life on the web everyday, by providing tools to share your historical passions and connect with others.

Footnote is perfect for:
History Buffs
Genealogists
Researchers
Family Historians
Military Historians
Teachers
Institutions

So checkout Footnote and enter the world of history and archives!

New Features in Tutor.com

With a new school year starting just days away, now is a good time to take a look at the new features that Tutor.com has recently added. The look of their page has changed, and with that many new features that customers have been asking for.
Now when a student needs math help they have access to graph paper to aid in their explanation to a tutor.
The Skills Center Resource Library offers videos, many sample work sheets, study guides and tutorials.
Proof Point is a new section that allows a student to have a document they have written reviewed by a live tutor for help with editing and grammar.
The Career Center is aimed at adults and young adults for help with career paths or changing careers.
When you are in your session there are now avatars in the upper left hand corner that represent the tutor and the student, and just like in Ask-a-Librarian, the avatar will have a moving keyboard displayed on them when one or the other party is responding, so you always know that your tutor is working on your problem.
Students can now e-mail a transcript of their session with their tutor to themselves to refer to and review at a later date.
And lastly there is now resume help and cover letter help in the Career Center section of the product.
Take a moment to review this database so when students begin to ask for help you will be prepared with answers and options!

New iPod and iPhone Compatible Audiobooks

Greetings all:

We have just loaded new records into Horizon for iPod and iPhone compatible audiobooks available from NetLibrary. One way to find the titles is to do a "quick search" of the catalog using the words ipod audiobook or iphone audiobook.
There are currently over 800 titles that are compatible in this way.

NetLibrary Media Center

NetLibrary's Media Center is a free, downloadable application that makes listening to eAudiobooks easy and simple.

Connect, Click, Listen - The Media Center will transfer your eAudiobooks to your PC or to your portable player with just one-click.

Connect your portable player to your PC
Click, Choose a title and click Transfer to Portable, the Media Center does the rest
Listen, Media Center will let you know when the transfer is complete.

You can also use the Media Center as a standalone way to access the library's entire eAudiobook collection.

To use the Media Center, you must first install the software on your personal computer by logging into http://www.netlibrary.com/. Click Help, review the Media Center installation requirements, and follow the installation procedure.

If you choose to go ahead and install The Media Center to your computer, it will perform any Microsoft updates that are necessary to get your computer up-to-date. You may want to perform these updates manually before launching the installer because the Microsoft updates can take a significant amount of time, if your computer is not updated regularly. If no updates are needed, the Media Center installation takes about five minutes.

Below are some links that provide helpfil information to get you started:

About the Media Center - Learn more about this stand-alone, desktop application for searching, managing, transferring and listening to NetLibrary eAudiobooks. http://library.netlibrary.com/media_center.aspx

Media Center System Requirements - Learn what the software and hardware requirements are for downloading the Media Center. http://library.netlibrary.com/mc_requirements.aspex

Online Media Center Demo- Take a tour of the Media Center. http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/tutorials/netlibrary/mediacenter/demo.swf

eAudiobook Users' Guide- Understand how to get started, how to download the Media Center, and how to download and renew eAudiobooks.

http://www.oclc.org/us/en/services/brochures/213633usb_netlibrary_eaudiobooks_user_guide.pdf

NewsBank Hot Topics for August

NewsBank Hot Topics are topics, issues, and events from throughout the world relative to social studies, science, health, sports, the arts and people that can be found in the NewsBank products.

Below are the Hot topics for August:

CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH TOPICS
ECONOMICS: Economic Recovery
TOPIC: The stock market began to rebound during the month of July. The media is cautiously predicting that the recession is ending because of this and the rebound in the real estate market. Others are not so sure, citing the enormous consumer credit card debt and the high cost of employee health care to companies. What has been the cause of the recent spikes in the market? What have been some of the predictions for the near future of the U.S. and world economy? What are predictions for the long term economy?
SEARCH TERMS: stock market AND recession

HEALTH: Health Care Reform Bill
TOPIC: Legislation for health care reform is being debated in Congress. What details have been the primary focus of the debate, and what are the different views on them? What have been the major efforts to reform health care in the United States since the end of the Second World War?
SEARCH TERMS: health care AND legislation

CRIME AND LAW: Sotomayor Hearings
TOPIC: As part of the confirmation procedure, Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been questioned about her judicial process and philosophy by the Senate Judicial Committee. What are some questions that Judge Sotomayor was asked that outline philosophical legal approaches of both the judge and the questioner, and how are they shown? What is entailed in the full confirmation process?
SEARCH TERMS: Sotomayor AND Senate AND confirmation

CRIME AND LAW: Seven Men Arrested in Terror Plot
TOPIC: Seven men, six of them U.S. citizens, have been arrested in North Carolina for conspiring to wage violent jihad overseas. How did this conspiracy start and what was the process in which these men were recruited? How was this conspiracy discovered by law enforcement?
SEARCH TERMS: North Carolina AND terrorist AND conspiracy

SOCIAL STUDIES RESEARCH TOPICS
Civics, Government and Politics: Sarah Palin Resigns
TOPIC: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has resigned. What are the reasons she gives for leaving office? What have been some challenges she's had recently as governor? What are her plans?
SEARCH TERMS: Sarah Palin AND resign

Civics, Government and Politics: Senate Cancels Funds for F-22 Raptor
TOPIC: The U.S. Senate has cancelled funding for a premier fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor. What is the basis for the decision? What have been the arguments for continuing the funding?
SEARCH TERMS: F-22 AND Senate

Civics, Government and Politics: Ethnic Problems in China
TOPIC: Uighurs, a Muslim minority group within China, rioted this month in protest of their treatment by the majority Han group. The authorities responded with repressive state violence, leading to many deaths. Why are the Uighurs angry? How is their situation similar to the Tibetans, and how is it different?
SEARCH TERMS: Uighurs AND riots AND Xinjiang

CRIME AND LAW: Natalia Esremirova
TOPIC: Natalia Esremirova was kidnapped from Grozny and found murdered in neighboring Ingushetia. She was investigating allegations of human rights violations in Chechnya. She is the latest human rights campaigner to be murdered in the former Soviet Union. Who are the others? How have the authorities responded to this spread of violence against human rights campaigners? Why do these crimes continue to occur?
SEARCH TERMS: Natalia Esremirova

ECONOMICS: Brazil and Paraguay Hydroelectric Plant
TOPIC: Brazil and Paraguay reached terms on the distribution of power from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant. Though jointly operated, Paraguay used only 5% of its power output and felt it was selling the remainder to Brazil at bargain prices. What are the new terms of their agreement? How do they differ from the previous terms?
SEARCH TERMS: Brazil AND Paraguay AND Itaipu

ECONOMICS: Auto Manufacturers
TOPIC: Porsche and Volkswagen have long had intertwined ownership. Recently Porsche executives tried to increase their stake in VW and failed, prompting the top two executives to resign. It seems the firms will now merge under conditions that favor VW. Why did the smaller company feel it could take over the larger auto manufacturer? Will VW taking over Porsche result in any long term changes for that brand?
SEARCH TERMS: Volkswagen AND Porsche

EDUCATION: Unionization of Charter Schools
TOPIC: An increasing number of teachers at charter schools are unionizing. What have been some primary reasons cited for their effort, and how do they differ in different parts of the country? What defines a charter school verses other kinds of schools?
SEARCH TERMS: charter schools AND union

HISTORY: Anniversary of the Moon Landing
TOPIC: It has been 40 years since NASA's Apollo 11 space mission first put a man on the moon. What were some of the experiments and discoveries made on that historic day? What were some difficulties experienced by the astronauts on the mission?
SEARCH TERMS: Apollo 11 AND moon

HISTORY: From under the Waves
TOPIC: Five Roman ships and their cargo have been discovered off the coast of Italy. They were at a depth that ensured a better state of preservation than many of the other ancient shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean. What sea route did they seem to be on? What was their cargo? What cultural role did their cargo play in Roman Life? How does artifact recovery allow us to understand more about past life and culture?
SEARCH TERMS: Ancient Rome AND shipwrecks

SOCIAL ISSUES: Nigeria and Islamists
TOPIC: Islamists in Northern Nigeria attacked police, who fought back in self-defense. What has prompted this violence? How connected to other Islamist movements are the Nigerians thought to be? What are some other minority groups in Nigeria?
SEARCH TERMS: Nigeria AND police AND Islamists

SOCIAL ISSUES: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
TOPIC: Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested for disorderly conduct after he argued with a police officer who was responding to a call that misunderstood Professor Gates' forced entry into his own home as a break in. What have been some later developments that have come out of this incident? What had made this incident so difficult to easily resolve?
SEARCH TERMS: Henry Louis Gates

SCIENCE AND HEALTH RESEARCH TOPICS
ENVIRONMENT: Wind Power
TOPIC: More and more towns are adopting wind power as an additional source of energy. What have been some of the benefits to this around the country? What have been some unforeseen difficulties they are facing?
SEARCH TERMS: wind power AND energy

ENVIRONMENT: Floods in Mongolia
TOPIC: Mongolia suffered its worst flash flooding in decades as rainstorms battered the country. 24 people are dead, houses were destroyed and hundreds of livestock were killed. Could the increased desertification and growth of the Gobi desert have somehow caused this event? What relief efforts are happening in Mongolia?
SEARCH TERMS: Mongolia AND floods

HEALTH: Swine Flu Vaccine
TOPIC: Australia began testing of a vaccine for swine flu as the WHO declared that fatalities caused by it are increasing. The WHO fears that industrialized nations will order the bulk of the vaccines produced, leading to a disparity of fatalities between them and poorer, developing countries. What would be a fair way to distribute the vaccine?
SEARCH TERMS: swine flu vaccine AND developing countries

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Jupiter and Collision
TOPIC: Amateur Australian astronomer Anthony Wesley captured an image of a rift in the cloud atmosphere of Jupiter, evidence of another celestial body crashing into the planet. The news sent other astronomers to their telescopes to verify the event. What do they think happened? What comet famously collided with Jupiter?
SEARCH TERMS: Jupiter AND impact

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: High-Tech Army Program
TOPIC: An older Army program called Future Combat Systems is having problems in development and is now being scaled back. What are the details and goals of this program? What have been some of the problems it has faced?
SEARCH TERMS: Future Combat Systems

SPORTS RESEARCH TOPICS
SPORTS: Buehrle Pitches Perfect Game
TOPIC: Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle recently pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. How many perfect games have been pitched in major league history and what games were they? What are some other highlights of Buehrle's career?
SEARCH TERMS: Mark Buehrle AND perfect game

SPORTS: Tom Watson
TOPIC: To the amazement of his fans, 59-year-old Tom Watson led the British Open going into the final day only to miss a tournament winning putt on the last hole. He lost in a four-hole playoff. Who won the tournament? What are Watson's prior achievements in this tournament?
SEARCH TERMS: Tom Watson AND British Open

SPORTS: Tour de France
TOPIC: Lance Armstrong rejoined the field of the Tour de France after four years away from the sport. While his teammate Alberto Contador won the race, Armstrong came in third. What was amazing about this finish? What are Armstrong's plans for the future? What was Contador's perspective about his teammate?
SEARCH TERMS: Lance Armstrong AND Albert Contador

SPORTS: Michael Vick Reinstated by NFL
TOPIC: Michael Vick has been reinstated by the NFL after serving 18 months for running a dog fighting ring. What are the limitations of his new status? What next steps need to be taken for Vick to play football again?
SEARCH TERMS: Michael Vick

SPORTS: Hall of Fame Inductees
TOPIC: Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. What have been some highlights of each man's career? What are the criteria for induction to the Hall of Fame?
SEARCH TERMS: Ricky Henderson OR Jim Rice

SPORTS: All-Star Game
TOPIC: The American League has won this year's All-Star Game in St. Louis. How many All-Star Games have been played and which league has the most wins? What qualifies a player to make the All-Star team?
SEARCH TERMS: All-Star Game AND baseball

ARTS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH TOPICS
FILM AND TELEVISION: Hollywood Financial Slump
TOPIC: The American film industry has depended on the sale of DVDs as a primary source of its income in recent years but with the continuing recession, those profits have dropped significantly. How has the film industry adapted to the economic conditions? What have been some unexpected difficulties in reforming the industry?
SEARCH TERMS: films AND economy

FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: Comic-Con International
TOPIC: Comic-Con International is a large annual comic book convention being held in San Diego this year. How has this convention expanded in the scope of its areas of focus since the original convention was held in 1970? What are some of the rare items that can be found at this convention?
SEARCH TERMS: Comic-Con AND San Diego

FINE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE: Civil War Photograph
TOPIC: A Spanish paper maintains that the Spanish Civil War photograph of a falling, just-killed soldier was posed by the photographer, Robert Capa, miles away from where it was said to have been shot. If the photo was staged, what implications does it have on the integrity of the work? In the digital age when photos can be easily altered, does alteration of image matter as much as it once might have?
SEARCH TERMS: Robert Capa

LITERATURE: Vasily Aksyonov
TOPIC: Vasily Aksyonov was a Russian author who found fame during Khrushchev's thaw and was later exiled. He was noted for being a chronicler of the Soviet Union's hipster movement, the stilyagi. What was Khrushchev's thaw? Who were other writers of the era who benefited from it? What were some of Aksyonov's works?
SEARCH TERMS: Vasily Aksyonov

LITERATURE: Frank McCourt
TOPIC: Frank McCourt was a famous New York high school teacher and author of memoir Angela's Ashes. What awards did Mr. McCourt's book win? What were some controversies coming out of his characterization of the Limerick?
SEARCH TERMS: Frank McCourt

PERFORMING ARTS: Merce Cunningham
TOPIC: Merce Cunningham was an innovator of avant-garde dance and choreography trough the second half of the 20th century. What is avant-garde? What groups did Mr. Cunningham work with and what are some of the lasting contributions he has made to dance?
SEARCH TERMS: Merce Cunningham

PEOPLE RESEARCH TOPICS
PEOPLE: Walter Cronkite
TOPIC: Walter Cronkite was a famous news broadcaster. What has he come to represent among many Americans in regard to news journalism? What news organizations did he work for during the course of his career? What are some of the key moments that he is known for in his reporting?
SEARCH TERMS: Walter Cronkite

PEOPLE: Kim Jong II
TOPIC: The leader of North Korean has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. How deadly is this form of cancer? What are the succession plans of the North Korean state? What impact will his illness have on North Korea's nuclear ambitions?
SEARCH TERMS: Kim Jong Il

PEOPLE: Harry Patch
TOPIC: Harry Patch was the last British veteran of World War I. He was predeceased by one week by Henry Allingham. Which branch of the services did they serve in? What honors were they given? What was Mr. Patch's opinion of the war?
SEARCH TERMS: Harry Patch OR Henry Allingham

PEOPLE: Michael Jackson Death Investigation
TOPIC: The investigation into what caused the death of Michael Jackson continues. What are some of the latest revelations in the case?
SEARCH TERMS: Michael Jackson AND investigation

PEOPLE: Hawaii Confirms Obama Birth Certificate
TOPIC: The state of Hawaii has confirmed that President Obama's birth certificate is authentic and that he was born an American citizen in the state of Hawaii in 1961. Has President Obama's birth certificate been certified as authentic before? Why does this question keep coming up?
SEARCH TERMS: Obama AND birth certificate

New titles added to Overdrive

93 new titles have been added to the Overdrive database in July. Many of them are "classics" which students may have on their summer reading lists. Remember to direct your customers to Overdrive when you are unable to find these titles in a paper copy. Below are listed just some of the titles which have been added and fall in the classics category:

Sense and sensibility /Austen, Jane, 1775-1817.
Wuthering Heights /Bronte, Emily, 1818-1848.
A time of innocence /Burke, Warren, 1932-
Nicholas Nickleby /Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Oliver Twist /Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Hound of the Baskervilles /Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930.
Call of wild /London, Jack, 1876-1916.
Winnie-the-Pooh /Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander), 1882-1956.
Anne of Green Gables /Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud), 1874-1942.
Heidi chronicles /Wasserstein, Wendy.

NoveList Adds New BookTalk Feature

Looking for a new way to introduce the classics to your teen readers? NoveList has assembled 15 BookTalks, along with abridged audio versions of the BookTalks, of the most often-used classics on high school summer reading lists. Look for audio BookTalks on:
- The Great Gatsby
- The Catcher in the Rye
- Things Fall Apart
- Cry, the Beloved Country
- The Crucible
- Death of a Salesman
- Night
- Frankenstein
- Wuthering Heights
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Lord of the Flies
- A Separate Peace
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Beowulf
You can quickly locate all these text and audio BookTalks by performing a search for the Curricular Connections article titled "Great Stories: Classics for the High School Reader" by Tom Reynolds.
Type "classics for the high school reader" in the Basic Search box.
Click the Search button.
From the Result List, click the Curricular Connections tab, and select the "Great Stories: Classics for the High School Reader" article.
Download the audio BookTalks from within the article by clicking the blue audio icon.
You can learn more about Tom Reynolds and his contributions to NoveList by searching for "spotlight Tom Reynolds," and clicking on the Curricular Connections tab. There you will find an article titled "Spotlight: Tom Reynolds."

Science Online Adds New Content

Science Online has recently added new content which further broadens the scope of this outstanding database, adding coverage of several core-curriculum subject areas--marine science, chemistry, and physics . As always, the new content comes in a variety of student-friendly formats--including more than 250 new or newly colored illustrations, more than 60 new photographs, and more than 440 new essays. In addition, a record URL has been added to the Advanced Search page, allowing users to easily bookmark and link directly to this page.

New Marine Science Subject Page:

A new marine science subject page has been added to Science Online , easily accessible from the "Explore Subjects" menu on the home page. From this page, students and researchers will find the perfect starting point for exploring the wealth of newly added content on this topic--including new or newly colored illustrations, new photographs, and hundreds of new essays. The helpful suggested searches give ideas for important topics and terms to research, and the links to diagrams and images, experiments, biographies, videos, and a timeline that will help educators liven their lesson plans while clarifying important concepts.

Examples of some of the new content include:

· Formation of the Hawaiian Islands:Use this clear illustration to help explain how the drifting of the Pacific tectonic plate over a hot spot resulted in the formation of the Hawaiian Islands.
· Ocean currents:Get an informative overview, with links and illustrations, of this important part of marine science.
· Marine sextant:Learn exactly how this navigational tool works with this clear diagram and labels.

New Chemistry Content:

With new essays as well as new or newly colored illustrations, the new chemistry content provides an overview of some fascinating areas of research. Coverage ranges from the most fundamental fields of chemistry, such as the origins of matter and of the universe, to those with important applications to everyday life, such as the composition of foods and drugs, to hot topics such as forensic chemistry, and more. The new material will be helpful to teachers looking to supplement coursework in general science, physical science, and chemistry classes.

Examples of the new content include:

· Chemistry of interstellar space
· Chemistry of water pollution
· Synthetic foods.

New Physics Content:

Studying matter and energy and their interactions is an integral part of science. The new physics material added with this update makes it easy for students to grasp the fundamental science by providing accessible real-life examples to which they can relate. New essays along with new or newly colored illustrations cover the wide world of physics, from the smallest particles that make up matter to the immense forces that move the continents. Use this new material to teach this core-curriculum topic in an entertaining way.

Examples of the new content include:

Observing the night sky
Household energy use
Radioactivity.

Remember this new content when students start back to school and Science Fairs and projects roll around!

Reference USA will have new Look

ReferenceUSA will have a new look beginning July 14th. This new look was designed by Reference Librarians across the nation indicating what they thought would work best. The information and searching will stay basically the same but with an easier usability.

WilsonWeb Adds new Enhancements

New enhancements for WilsonWeb have been released today. This release includes important tools for researchers of any level and includes the expansion of the text-to-speech feature, foreign language translations, and navigational improvements for users with visual disabilities.

A five minute demonstration covering the enhancement is available at: http://www.hwwilson.com/Documentation/WilsonWeb/training/Demos/Enhancements/Enhancements_demo.htm

New Gale Virtual Reference Library Titles Added

Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) takes research to the next level by delivering great reference print titles, that you as patrons rely on, but in a database format. Just imagine having many multi-volume sets, with no torn pages and all volumes available, right at the convenience of your computer screen. That is the benefit of how e-books work, and now 11 new titles, (which are listed below), have been added to our catalog. Check them out when you get time!

Gale Library of Daily Life: Civil War

Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery

American Men and Women of Science

Gale Encyclopedia of US History

Gale Encyclopedia of World History

Who's Who Among African Americans

Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions

Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health

Everyday Finance: Economics, Personal Money Management & Entrepreneurship

National Directory of Non-profit Organizations

New

New

Statistics for April are GREAT!

If you have ever wondered how much our paid for databases are used, I have would like to shed some light on that question. I don't know what was going on in the month of April, but our usage for certain databses was really good. Below are some statistics of our databases for the month of April 2009.

Digital Sanborn Maps - we had 157 visitors and 759 images that were accessed

Learning Express Library's Learn-a-Test- 528 sessions took place

Tutor.com - servered 520 students in April

NetLibrary - there were 1,342 ebooks accessed from them in April

Overdrive- 1300 ebooks were downloaded in April form Overdrive

Mango Languages- 487 sessions took place

World Book Online- 942 sessions took place and there were 1,457 searches that happened

Reference USA- we had 2,250 logins, 5,302 searches, and 88,774 records either printed or downloaded - WOW!

Heritage Quest Online- 10,977 searches were performed and 34,495 documents were accessed!

These are just a few of the examples of how our customers are using our online products. With your help and promotion those numbers could grow even larger. Often time customers don't even know what we have to offer unless you tell them. So, if you want to know more information about a specific product don't hesitate to ask.

Tutor.com to Offer Services for Job Hunt

This article appeared in Library Journal on 4/1/2009:

As the economic downturn persists and layoffs continue nationwide, patrons are flocking to their local libraries, seeking help with the job search. To serve those needs, Tutor.com will go beyond its traditional role of serving mostly high school and college students by debuting Adult Learning Center.
According to the company, the service, scheduled for release in summer 2009, will include one-on-one tutoring with patrons to help them come up with "résumé strategies" and write cover letters. There will also be a proofreading component called ProofPoint, modeled after an existing Tutor.com service offered to high school students, as well as a SkillsCenter Resource Library to help users identify "vetted resources that provide résumé guidelines, job search guidance, and networking tips including how to use online resources and social media."

Mango Languages Has a New Look

If you have not noticed already Mango Languages has changed the look of their page. It has been customized for our library and it makes it very clear what languages are offered. Each language has a blurb about the country as well as a picture of their country flag. The orange/yellow dot indicates that there are 100 lessons for that language.
Also remember the really great feature of the translator. This is very helpful when trying to translate a word from one language to another.

New Features and Content for Science Online

Science Online has recently added new features and content to their database. These updates includes many exciting new features that make Science Online even more accessible and user-friendly for students and researchers. Check out their useful new "Did You Mean...?" feature and other search enhancements. The new easy-to-use conversion calculator, the handy new site map, more than 150 new or newly colored illustrations, and more than 500 new entries on a variety of topics, from artificial intelligence and robotics to hot issues such as climate change will help in all areas of science and nature.

Science Online has been enhanced with several powerful search features that help users navigate the extensive range of material in the database. For example their new "Did You Mean...?" feature suggests another search term ("did you mean...?") when a user's search does not yield results. In addition, users are now able to sort the search results for news articles and Today's Science articles by either relevancy or date from the Science in the News page or the Advanced Search page. Search results for videos can now be filtered for those with closed-captioning only. The new site map easily accessible at the top of the page offers quick navigation to the key browse pages in the database, and the Science Standards link--which allows users to search for science education standards and then find entries in Science Online related to those standards.

Click here to enter Science Online and view these new features.

MP3 Titles from Overdrive now Easy to Find

Want to find only iPod compatible titles from Overdrive. Now you can! Take a look at the ebooks and Audiobooks page off our Databases and Websites page and you will see this icon:

All the titles that are MP3 compatible have all been grouped together under one umbrella and when you click on this link you will be able to see all 96 titles that we currently have access to. More titles will be added in the future so look for them. Each title has a graphical list of compatible devices to make it easy to determine if you have the right device to download that titles. Happy Reading, or Listening as the case may be!

Gale Ready Reference Shelf - Cancelled

The Gale Ready Reference Shelf, electronic product has been removed from our Databases and Websites page. Gale's Ready Reference Shelf , as you may or may not know, is an amalgam of classic Gale print directories such as Encyclopedia of Associations, Directories in Print, Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, etc. in database form. The interface for the product was clunky at best (its been around for ages) but Ready Reference is still highly valued by reference librarians around the country, and perhaps that is the problem. It was not particularly patron friendly and customers had a hard time using it. As a result we have opted to cancel the electronic product and only retain 4 of the basic titles in print. Those titles are :
Encyclopedia of Associations - National
Encyclopedia of Associations - International
Encyclopedia of Associations - Regional, State, and Local
Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media

NEW MP3 Audiobooks have Arrived!

If you have not checked out Overdrive in a while, now is the time! We have just added NEW titles to our OverDrive collection that are compatible with your MP3 players. You can transfer these titles to an iPod®, an iPhone™, an iPod Touch as well as a CD or MP3 player.

Below is a list of the new titles that were added at the beginning of March 09.

Happy listening!


Bloodlist (unabridged)
Effective Writing for Business, College, and Life (unabridged)
The Bonesetter's Daughter (unabridged)
The Attractor Factor (unabridged)
Deadly Housewives (unabridged)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald (unabridged)
Maximizing Your Money (unabridged)
100 Ways To Bring Out Your Best (unabridged)
Wine Appreciation (unabridged)
Dreams (unabridged)
A More Perfect Union (unabridged)
Nailing the Job Interview (unabridged)
Blackman’s Coffin (unabridged)
The Metamorphosis (unabridged)
Death Is a Cabaret (unabridged)
The House at Pooh Corner (unabridged)
Retiring Right (unabridged)
Shades of Blue (unabridged)
I Am Potential (unabridged)
The Now Habit (unabridged)
Name Withheld (unabridged)
Winnie-the-Pooh (unabridged)
Healthy Eating (unabridged)
Edge of Evil (unabridged)

New Brilliance titles added to OverDrive Digital Catalog

Check out these new titles added to OverDrive since the beginning of January 2009!

The 13th Juror
16 Lighthouse Road
204 Rosewood Lane
311 Pelican Court
44 Cranberry Point
50 Harbor Street
8 Sandpiper Way
An Abundance of Katherines
Amazing Grace
Autumn Lover
Betrayal
Blood Brothers
Blood Tide
Bloodline
Born in Ice
Born in Shame
Cave of the Dark Wind
Celebration
China Lake
Crosscut
Dale Brown’s Retribution
Darkfall
Desert Rain
The Devil Who Tamed Her
The Dirty Secrets Club
Dragon Harper
Dragon’s Fire
Dragonsblood
Dragonsdawn
Escape from the Carnivale
Fast Track
The Fifth Profession
Forbidden
Forget Me Not
Gentle Rogue
Hard Evidence
The Hearing
The Hollow
Honor Thyself
The House of Thunder
Jericho Point
L.A. Outlaws
Laguna Heat
The League of Night and Fog
Light in Shadow
Listen to Your Heart
Looking for Alaska
Lost and Found
Love Me Forever
Love Only Once
Lover in the Rough
The Magic of You
The Marriage Game
Marriage Most Scandalous
Mask Market
Midnight in Death
Mission Canyon
Morrigan’s Cross
Murder at Ford’s Theatre
Murder at the Opera
Murder at The Washington Tribune
Murder at Union Station
Murder in Foggy Bottom
Murder on K Street
Nimisha’s Ship
No Choice But Seduction
The Oath
Odd Hours
Pandora’s Daughter
Pegasus in Space
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
Phantoms
Plain Jane
The President’s House
The Pursuit
Remember Summer
The Renegades of Pern
Say You Love Me
Sealed with a Kiss
The Second Chair
Shadow Command
Smoke in Mirrors
Soft Focus
Tender Rebel
Terminal
To the Ends of the Earth
Truth or Dare
Twenty Wishes
Twilight Eyes
Untamed
Up Close and Personal
Vegas Heat
Vegas Rich
Vegas Sunrise
The Vig
The Voice of the Night
What You Wish For
Where Angels Go
A Woman Without Lies
Yesterday

Overdrive Updates

We are happy to be able to announce two major additions of support in the Overdrive Audiobooks that we are offering.

The first is support for the MP3 format in a limited number of titles. At this point 76 titles to be exact! This means that in addition to devices from Microsoft running either PlaysForSure or Zune software, there is now support for Apple, Palm, and Android-based and any other devices that support the widely used MP3 format. You can now transfer these titles to an iPod®, an iPhone™, an iPod Touch as well as a CD or MP3 player. Eventually each title in our catalog will have a graph to indicate it is Ipod compatible.

In addition, the Overdrive Media Console is a now available in versions for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh.

To get started link to the ebooks & Audiobooks subject Guide off the Databases and Websites page and go to the TBLC Digital Catalog.

Digital TV Conversion--- EXTENSION

Yes it is true! Those rabbit ears will work a little while longer. After weeks of debate, Congress has finally decided to postpone the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting until June 12, 2009. There were growing concerns that too many Americans wouldn't be ready by the February 17th deadline that Congress set three years ago. An estimate from the Nielsen Company says that there are 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals that still are not ready. For FAQ's and much more information on this transition, don't forget to visit the web site at: http://www.dtv.gov/

Digital TV Transition...What You Need to Know about DTV

· What is Digital - Analog, and the difference between them?
· Will I be able to continue to use my existing TV?
· Understand your options and choices. So many questions and here are some answers!

Analog is the process of taking an audio or video signal and translating it into electronic pulses. The trouble is analog signals have size limitations as to how much data they can carry.
Digital technology breaks the signal into binary code a series of 1s and 0s and transfers it to the other end where another device takes all the numbers and reassembles them into the original signal. The beauty of digital is that it knows what it should be when it reaches the end of the transmission. That way, it can correct any errors that may have occurred in the data transfer. In most cases, you'll get distortion-free conversations and clearer TV pictures.

What's the difference between analog and digital?
Analog TV works by grabbing transmissions out of the air in the same way a radio grabs radio waves. This explains the need for an antenna outside your home or the so-called rabbit ear antennas on top of a set. An analog transmission starts as a set of moving images taken by a video camera at about 30 frames per second. The camera converts the images into a set of pixels, and gives each of those pixels a color and a level of intensity ranging from dim to bright. The pixels are combined into horizontal and vertical rows that an analog TV can interpret, and a sound signal is added. The video and sound are then converted to radio waves of specific frequencies depending on the channels you're watching, and sent over the air where your TV can pick them up using an antenna. Analog TV works however resolution is poor compared to digital and the signal itself can suffer from interference the all-too-familiar snow and static.

Digital TV is far more efficient and the quality is higher. Whereas analog TV is made up of pixels, digital TV is made up of packets of compressed data. Unlike many online videos, digital TV isn't fuzzy or distorted. The compression is unobtrusive but has an interesting side effect. Broadcasters can pack more information and more image and sound resolution into a digital transmission than into an analog one. So much so, that a digital broadcast can contain what are called subchannels. Each subchannel can carry a different program without using additional bandwidth. That's the multicasting that the FCC mentioned earlier. On top of that, digital transmissions aren't affected by interference -- say goodbye to snow!

Will my old TV work?
If you have an older analog TV, you won't be able to pick up over-the-air digital transmissions. Essentially, your TV will be dark when you turn it on after the February, 2009 deadline. Look at the back of the set. Most newer digital-capable TVs including all sets that have been sold since March 1, 2008 often have a sticker with wording like Built in digital tuner or DTV ready. If you don't see the sticker, or are still not 100% certain then check the manufacturer's Web site for the model number of your TV.

What are my options?
Purchase a new digital type TV which come in various sizes and cost from $300 to over $4000.

Install a converter box is a gadget that hooks into your analog TV and converts the digital signal into a format that your old TV can understand, and they cost anywhere from $50 to $75 dollars. The good news is the government is helping you out with the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. Between now and March 31, 2009, you may apply for two coupons worth $40 that will help defray the costs of the digital converters. To get your coupons go to (http://www.dtv.gov/).

Subscribe to a local cable company like Verizon, Brighthouse, or satellite TV service like DirectTV or Dish Network.



Converter box Setup Instructions:
Unplug the existing coaxial wire antenna from tv antenna port

Plug the existing coaxial cable in Antenna In (RF) connect your Converter Box.

With the coaxial cable, with your converter box, insert one end in Out on TV (RF) port converter box. Plug the other end in Antenna In (RF) port on your TV.
Plug the cord from your converter box and television in an electrical outlet and switch on your television and the converter-Box. Use the instructions you with the converter-box Tune your television to channel 3 or 4 With the remote control supplied with your converter box, follow the instructions on-screen installation guide for research channels of digital television, and beginning to appreciate the advantages of digital television!

Reminder *** Learning Express Version 2.0 - Coming in February

LearningExpress Library Version 2.0 will debut in February. This new version will make finding and accessing your favorite online courses and tests easier than ever. To get a sneak-peak of the new LearningExpress Library home page and how easy it will be to use simply go to:

http://www.learningexpressllc.com/demos/LEL_Sneak_Preview/home.cfm

Facts on File Database Changes

As you may have noticed, Facts on File has decided to cancel there Personal and Business Forms database as of January 15, 2009. With this cancellation, Facts on File is providing us “for a limited time”, access to their :

Ferguson's Career Guidance Center.
This database provides detailed profiles of more than 3,300 jobs and 94 industries, invaluable advice on career skills, and more than 48,000 resource entries. You will also be able to perform searches for thousands of job and career descriptions; browse the content for job-hunting and career advice; locate school, scholarship, internship, and other directory records by category, as well as provide you with a gallery of sample resumes and cover letters.
Access to the database is for a limited time only, until March 15th 2009, so take a test drive before the trial runs out!

Fresh look for Tutor.com's Live Homework Help

Launching on January 21, Live Homework Help will now have a more student-friendly design with new fonts and colors.

The Online Classroom will also feature a new look with bigger and more colorful tools. Customers will be able to have a separate entry page and unique URL regardless if they are a student or adult learner. There will also be a one-click entry to the En Espanol service. Below is the link to a brief video to check out the new look. So check it out!

http://www.up0.net/ct.html?rtr=on&s=eaj2,68j2,fz5,8tjr,4i2z,72o2,ad89&MLM_MID=290990&MLM_UNIQUEID=5094276179