Thursday, October 28, 2010

Ask A Librarian



So you’ve just finished watching your favorite TV or news program, or listening to your favorite radio show. For the last hour, they touted the brilliance of someone’s latest novel or nonfiction read. The damage is done – your interest is piqued. All you’re thinking now is, "I’ve got to read this book."

You… and maybe just a few other people. (Anyone remember Tickle-Me Elmo?) Well, the first step is to head straight to your library’s catalog – either in-person or online – and see if you’ve beaten the rest of those viewers or listeners to the punch. Your library may have anticipated the wave of heightened interest and ordered extra copies, so you may be able to stake your claim then and there. But if not – if your library’s copies are already checked out – make sure you place a hold on that title. Your library will put you on a waiting list just for that title. As the items are returned, they are set aside for those next on the waiting list. Your library will notify you as soon as your book is ready. And if for some reason your library doesn’t own a copy of the book, don’t despair - your library’s Interlibrary Loan service may be able to borrow the book from another library system.

Your library’s catalog lets you place holds – and sometimes even Interlibrary Loan requests – online from the convenience of your computer. If you need help finding a book, placing a hold, or just getting more information on how to place an Interlibrary Loan request through your library, visit Ask a Librarian today and get live help from a real Florida librarian. No matter what you’re looking for, we’ll help you find it.

What can we help you with today?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Changes to come with Overdrive



Do you download ebooks? Has this ever happened to you?


You are searching in the local OPAC for say "61 Hours" by Lee Child. You choose the ebook version, click the link, and find myself at "61 Hours" in the OverDrive catalog.


But, you can't add it to your cart until you log in. And after you log in, you are dumped back to the default landing page, not back at "61 Hours"?


So, then you have to search for it within the OverDrive site to get myself back there.


Annoying Right?


Well by annoyed no more! Tweaking this feature has actually been added to the new Overdrive Feature Request list and is under review. Hopefully this functionality will be updated in the future for their sites as they definitely do not want the user experience to be ‘annoying’!


So look forward to better things to come in the future from Overdrive!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Foundation Center Updates



GrantSpace
The Foundation Center launched GrantSpace.org on October 5, 2010. This website places information about grants and fundraising within reach of organizations of all sizes, providing the grantseeker with a one-stop shop for knowledge, community and expert guidance. GrantSpace compliments the Foundation Center with recent news, reports, documents, etc. that relates to the most pressing social change issues of the day. There are links to FAQ’s as well as a calendar that lists and allows registration for upcoming Foundation Center training opportunities around the U.S. and online.
GrantSpace has an assortment of tools and resources designed to get you up to speed on what you will need to finance and operate a nonprofit organization.
TRASI
Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact (TRASI) is another new resource on the Foundation Center database. This database has guidelines for creating and conducting an assessment and ready to use tools for measuring social change. TRASI is a partnership project with the Foundation Center and McKinsey & Co. and with experts in the field to address the growing interest in measuring social impact.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Books and Authors Available from FEL


You can now access Books and Authors via the Florida Electronic Library free.


Books and Authors, a Gale product can be used to enhance the experience of the book you are currently reading, digging deeper into its themes and origins, or learning how the author′s life and times contributed to the work. Books and Authors covers fiction and non-fiction titles as well. It also has lists of Read-alikes and Expert Picks of titles that are the Best of the Best in different genres or subjects. The next time you are stumped check out Books and Authors located off the FEL page.




Monday, October 4, 2010

Florida Electronic Library - FEL

The Florida Electronic Library—your gateway to superior electronic resources that offer access to comprehensive, accurate, and reliable information—offers a training program designed to meet the needs of all library staff. With its blended curriculum, you can take advantage of the training that best suits your learning style: on demand, live webinar, or on-site in your library.
Homework Help Using FEL Resources
Get an overview of the best FEL resources to use when assisting elementary, middle, and high school students with homework assignments. A multidisciplinary approach will be used to teach attendees about the FEL resources geared to the library staff and a student audience. Reference questions and assignments will be provided to help teach the practical application of the database to real life student research. The attendees will be taught the most effective and efficient search strategies to obtain the best results for student questions and research.

This session is ideal for children and youth services staff, media specialists, and anyone helping students with research.

· Always available on demand
· Live webinar Thursday, October 7 at 11:00 a.m.

Register online at http://www.flelibrary.org/training/.

Other courses available include:
· The World of FEL/Gale Resources: A General Product Overview
· Patron Outreach: Creating Easy Access and Increasing Usage of FEL Resources
· A Healthy Perspective: Health Research Using FEL Resources
· FEL QuickStart: General and Academic OneFile Searches
· The Power of Web 2.0: Best Practices Using FEL Resources
· Getting Down to Business: Effective Use of FEL Business Resources
· Following the Trends: Understanding FEL Reports and Analysis Data
· Making It Personal: Customizing Your FEL Products
 
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