February 3rd, 2012
by Carrie
Although we at JCPL are proud of our collection of library eBooks, we understand that, just as with print books, sometimes you might want to buy eBooks of your own. If you’re looking to expand your permanent eBook collection, here are a few websites that will help you score eBooks for free–or at least very cheaply.
With the exception of Pixel of Ink, which is just for the Kindle format, all of these websites offer eBooks in several different formats. Due to copyright restrictions, many of these books are in the public domain and therefore were published before 1923.
Disclaimer: The following links are provided to assist in locating downloadable books. JCPL is not responsible for their content. These third party web sites may or may not provide content meeting JCPL’s Collection Development Policy.
Baen Books eBook Library (http://www.baen.com/library/)
A selection of free, current, science fiction and fantasy novels from Baen Books, including books by Mercedes Lackey, David Weber, and Eric Flint. You can read these books online or download them to an eBook reader.
Inkmesh (http://inkmesh.com/)
Search across multiple websites to find free eBooks and compare eBook prices. Allows easy browsing by subject, too.
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January 27th, 2012
by Carrie
Here’s a great, graphic post from Hack College about getting better search results from Google. It’s geared toward college students, but it’s useful for anyone who wants to improve their search results. Thanks to Kendall, JCPL’s Teen Librarian, for the link!
Created by: HackCollege
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January 18th, 2012
by Carrie
On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the King Center released 200,000 digitized documents from Dr. King’s papers, including letters, note cards, telegrams, speeches, and photographs. The King Center Digital Imaging Project hopes to bring “the works and papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to a digital generation.”
You can search the documents or browse curated themes that focus on subjects such as letters from children, notable sermons, nonviolence strategies, and more. A draft of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech shows edits he made just before giving the speech. Here’s a telegram from Dr. King to Eartha Kitt, and a letter a child wrote to Corretta Scott King after her husband was assassinated. All of these items make history come alive in a way that only primary source documents can.
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December 15th, 2011
by Carol
This is the time of year that many are thinking of ways to give back. Volunteerism increases during the holidays with individuals and families giving of their time and resources to local soup kitchens, angel trees, and service organizations. The gift of volunteering benefits the giver as much, if not more, than the receiver.
If you find yourself motivated to make volunteerism a more regular part of your life, consider taking a Volunteer Vacation this summer. The idea is to use vacation time as an opportunity to do something worthwhile that benefits you and others. Volunteering for a worthy cause during time off can be a fulfilling adventure that you and your family look forward to year after year.
Opportunities are available all over the globe and range from working with livestock, studying wild horses with Earthwatch, working alongside archeologists on remote southwestern digs and with historians on National Forest land, assisting with health care in remote villages, maintaining trails in beautiful mountain ranges, or building homes for the homeless. In the current economic times the fact that volunteer vacations are often free or tax deductible is another added bonus.
Learn more about volunteer vacations at:
www.immersiontraveler.com
www.familytravelnetwork.com
Look for opportunities for volunteer vacations in the following books available at JCPL:
Volunteer Vacations Across America by Sheryl Kayne
Volunteer Vacations by Bill McMillion
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December 12th, 2011
by Christina
Thinking about buying someone a book or audiobook for the holidays? Not sure what they might enjoy?
Back in October, we told you about NoveList’s NextReads Newsletters, a service which sends you lists of new and forthcoming titles in various genres. Jessamine County Public Library also offers NoveList Plus, a helpful solution for identifying what to read next.
The NoveList Plus database makes recommendations for what to read based on titles, authors, series, or genres you, or someone you love, already enjoy. All the recommendations include an explanation as to why a particular selection would be appealing to the reader. To access this resource from home, simply enter your seven-digit library card number as your patron ID.
NoveList Plus contains descriptions and recommendations for both fiction and narrative nonfiction titles and for all ages from the youngest readers to adults. Additionally, NoveList Plus includes Book Discussion Guides, thematic book lists, and reading and book oriented articles.
More information may be found on the library website at or by speaking with us at the Information Desk.
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December 12th, 2011
by Kendall
Want to ace your A
CT? Write better? Impress your history teacher with multimedia? Get tips on the college admissions process? For high school students, www.Shmoop.com is the answer. A website with the mission “to make learning and writing more fun and relevant to students in the digital age,” this site has everything you need to embrace and excel at school. All the material on the website is created and maintained by educators and experts, a vast majority of whom have classroom experience at the high school or college level. Shmoop.com is one of only two education websites honored by the Webby awards in both 2009 and 2010. PC Magazine called it “the best of the internet,” and it’s easy to see why.
From the homepage, students get all that Shmoop offers at a glance: Literature, Poetry, Bestsellers, US History, Civics, Biology, Test Prep, College 101, and much more. The website embraces lifelong learning, not just passing classes, so it offers reading analysis guides to popular fiction, such as Twilight, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter, as well as required reading selections like Shakespeare and The Great Gatsby.
College admissions tips, including application writing and financial aid, can be found in the College 101 section. “Best of the Web” highlights the favorite learning websites of PhDs on staff. Test prep offers free and paid options to help you ace the ACT, AP, SAT and other common tests. Teacher Resources are available and appealing to school teachers and home schooling parents. And, when students need a break, the site offers the hilarious “Recess” section for entertainment.
One of the best aspects of the site is the tone of the writing. Even the driest subjects are presented with an updated, fun voice that makes it engaging to teens and adults alike. Shmoop.com has succeeded in creating a space for learning that marries educational content and online capabilities that students today have come to expect. A+
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November 30th, 2011
by Barbara
Most of us who commute an hour or more a day know that the library offers boredom-relievers in the form of music CDs, books on CD or tape, and downloadable audio books. An even wider range of listening enjoyment can be found through the podcasts produced by several libraries around the country and available to listeners everywhere.
A podcast is a digital recording made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player. For commuters, an advantage to podcasts over audio books is that they are usually an hour or less in length and cover a seemingly infinite variety of topics. An advantage to podcasts over radio broadcasts is that one can choose what one listens to at any given moment. So many podcasts are available that one need never again complain of commute-time boredom.
In library-produced podcasts you can find interviews with favorite authors, discussions among experts on just about every topic imaginable, live music concerts, university lectures, language lessons, and more. Some libraries also disseminate podcasts produced by their library patrons, including teens and even children.
A sampling of library podcasts is found below (after the break). For most, you can subscribe to a regular feed to download and listen to on your computer and/or digital player. Others list podcasts in an archive from which you can download the ones you like.
read more »
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November 23rd, 2011
by Carrie
Although we at the Information Desk are always happy to help you find answers to your cooking and recipe questions, we’ll be spending time with our own families (and dealing with our own cooking emergencies!) on Thanksgiving Day. Just in case you have any last- minute, day-of questions, here are a few resources to help.
The dining section of the New York Times is currently featuring readers’ questions on everything from “What do I need to know to make delicious, not-lumpy mashed potatoes?” to “How do I not lose my marbles stuck in a car with my father-in-law?” Click here to see a list of questions and their answers or to submit your own question. Readers without subscriptions can access 20 free articles a month, which should be more than enough to get you through any potential holiday cooking mishaps. And of course, you can read the print version in the library.
Good Housekeeping offers a printable list of helplines on their website. This handy list includes the days and times the helplines are open.
This list from the Boston Herald includes Twitter feeds and a number (1-800-I-AM-FULL) for advice on how not to be a butterball.
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November 15th, 2011
by Carrie
Looking for a good science fiction or fantasy book, but don’t know where to start? The science fiction blog SF Signal recently created a flowchart based on NPR’s list of the top 100 science fiction and fantasy books of all time.
As SF Signal points out, the chart has “(obviously) 100 end points and over 325 decision points.” It’s heavy on the “pithy commentary,” which is amusing even for people like me who don’t normally read these two genres. For example, the question “Cyberpunk?” yields two possible answers: “Yes, I love that Billy Idol album,” or “No, I get enough ‘cyber punks’ on Facebook.”
The flowchart is available as a printable, static chart and as an interactive guide.
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October 19th, 2011
by Carrie
Among other things, JCPL geeks costumes, and this year, we’re not only having costume contests for children and dogs, we’re also having a staff costume contest. On October 25th, JCPL staff will dress up for a chance to win in four different categories: Best Book Character, Best Movie Character, Best Music Character, and Most Creative Costume. JCPL customers will decide the winners based on photographs that will be posted in the library from October 25th-31st.
Still searching for an idea for your own Halloween costume? See below for links to literary-inspired ideas:
The Books are Alive!
Costume ideas from The New Yorker.
10 Literary Halloween Costumes
From litdrift.com. My favorite is Scout’s ham costume from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Literary Halloween Costumes
Children and adult costume ideas from the book blog, “Apparently Not Deranged.”
Costumes: Literary Inspired
Ideas for homemade children’s costumes from ohdeedoh.com
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