Cyber Bullying

The Hot Topic at Universal CityWalk Hollywood.

Image via Wikipedia

With Cyber Bullying in the news again, the Virtual Library decided to add a new Hot Topic under Popular Hot Topics.

We have three databases which cover the subject very well as well a great free resource from Gale. Cyber Cadets also teaches younger children Internet Safety.

We don’t have too much in line of books on the subject but if you know of something please share it with me and I’ll review and update the Hot Topic.

Biography in Context

Biography in Context replaces Biography Resource Center.

Biography in Context puts all formats of content into one-stop views.  It includes reference, periodical, multimedia, primary source content and more. Some notable new additions:

  • Search occupations, nationalities, birthplaces and deathplaces right from the homepage — not just names
  • Sharing tools for any social media app you can think of
  • Citation generation in MLA and APA format
  • Print or email as PDF
  • Search assist for person topic pages
  • ReadSpeaker text-to-speech on every document
  • Translation for Chinese (simplified), French, German, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish..and back to English again
  • Thousands more photos than ever before
  • Embedded videos
  • Podcasts and audio files
  • Citation generation
  • Advanced search by document type, content type
  • Factboxes on person topic pages

And to top it all off, Gale has rolled all 160,000 biographies from Lives & Perspectives Collection into the  Biography In Context base content set — free of charge. That gives users access to more than 600,000 biographies, all full-text, all the time.

Blackberry Announces Playbook

This morning Blackberry announced a new tablet device (Playbook) which will challenge iPad. At early looks of specifications on the device it appears it will support eAudio (WMA) and eVideo (WMV) overdrive formats. Kindle is making an app for it so not yet sure if the Adobe Digital Editions will be supported as well. Adobe is supported by the device.

When I hear from OverDrive on compatibility I’ll pass the information on.

It appears, they may try to launch the product in time for the holidays or early next year.

Read more at engadget – RIM introduces Playbook.

Monday Morning Smile

“Why don’t you have Little Richard’s Almanac in your library?”

Anita Harrell

Hampton Public Library
Hampton, VA

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) first began compiling, writing, and publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1733, joining a long popular tradition. Franklin deliberately based his almanac on English predecessors, even borrowing the name of his alter ego, Richard Saunders, the Poor Richard of the title.
Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) changed the direction of American popular music by pioneering rock music in America and, through his success, helping black artists break into mainstream popular music. While he did not do this single-handedly, the contrast between his flamboyant image and exuberant performance of “Tutti Frutti” and the staid version by a well-scrubbed Pat Boone in V-neck sweater and saddle shoes is convenient shorthand for the shift.
Learn more about Poor Richard, Little Richard and Pat Boone in U.S. History in Context

How-to Videos

Got two minutes?  Learn how to use a database! Visit On the Road–Virtually! for these 3 short videos on how to use these databases:

  • CultureGrams
  • The New York Times 1855-2005
  • SIRS Issues Researcher (Opposing Viewpoints)

As an extra bonus you can download and print out a quick start guide for each database.

There is also a video Why Databases – The Human Element (a little longer – 5 minutes) on why you should use a database instead of using a search engine on the Internet.

Videos can be found under the How-to Videos of On The Road–Virtually! Select How to Use Databases.

World Book Online Training Videos

World Book offers training videos for Library Staff on each database we purchase.  The videos take about 5 minutes to view and provide a great way to become familiar with the database and its contents.  Please feel free to view them on your own and if you have any questions you are welcome to contact Jon, Susan or myself in the Virtual Library.

World Book Training Videos

Your Library is on the Phone!

The AccessMyLibrary Public Edition App

Now it’s easy to bring your library to your patrons.

Boost usage by encouraging them to download the AccessMyLibrary Public Edition mobile app from Gale. AccessMyLibrary uses GPS to find public libraries* within a 10-mile radius of the user’s location, then gives them free, unlimited access to our reputable, authoritative Gale online resources — without the need to authenticate.

Get the free AccessMyLibrary Public Edition mobile app for your device using one of the QR codes or links listed at Gale’s App page.

You can also download table tents, bookmarks, and FAQs should your patrons have questions.

Early in October this information will be posted on The Librarian’s Brain to promote it to patrons.

Also an android app is available.

World Book – Kids

Later this month, World Book Kids will have a great new look and some important new features. The site will continue to offer all of the most useful features of the classic World Book Kids site, including simple navigation, easy-to-read articles, multimedia, maps, interactive tools, and activities.

New features include:

• An engaging new design

• A tool to help students find information about important people

• Dozens of age-appropriate science fair projects

• Interactive maps and outline maps and flags

• Compare Places, a tool for researching and comparing continents, countries, states, and provinces

• Dozens of interactive educational games students will want to play again and again

Ten Famous Cases of the Nevada Supreme Court

The headquarters of the Supreme Court of Nevad...

Image via Wikipedia

The Nevada Judicial Historical Society sponsored a project called Ten Famous Cases of the Nevada Supreme Court, 1865-1937.  The cases were chosen because they were legally important or unique.  They were researched by attorneys and historians, scripts were written by the late Norm Nielson, and narration was by 10 eminent Nevadans.

This has been added to our reference bookmarks at del.icio.us and on the Hot Topic - Las Vegas and Nevada History

Death of Print?

The Death of Print?

Cindy Orr Sep 14, 2010 7:03 AM – Show original item

Have we reached the tipping point? In her monthly blog post, contributor Cindy Orr discusses accelerating eBook adoption in the mainstream and what it means for libraries.

Experts are beginning the inevitable big debate that somehow we all knew was coming: Are we approaching the tipping point between print books and eBooks? Nicholas Negroponte, the first investor in Wired magazine and author of the bestselling book Being Digital, recently predicted that the physical book will be dead within five years. Publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin gives it 10 years. The print book won’t really go away, they say, but it will eventually cease to be the dominant format.

Read more..

Nevada State Apartment Association

Monument to David Berry, a good landlord of wh...

Image via Wikipedia

The following provided by Vicki Barrnet and added to the Living in Southern Nevada Hot Topic under Local Resources

Nevada State Apartment Association
Provides information for property owners, managers-landlords and tenants. There are free downloads for specific forms pertaining to State of Nevada law and city and county ordinances for landlords and tenants. You will also see FAQs for tenants and landlords about property rentals.

New Sony eBook Reader

PC Pro reviews the new Sony eReader.  Below is a few of the highlights of the review:

..big improvement and nearly as good the new Amazon Kindle’s screen!

Sony has hatched a deal with Google to place a custom search of Google books on the Sony website, opening an estimated 500,000 titles up for quick and easy download. Google’s standard book search doesn’t let you filter results in this way, so finding titles you can take away on an eBook has, up until now, been a hit and miss affair.

This sounds really cool as we have the books in the catalog linked to Google Books.

.. and more interesting development, is support for free eBook loans from local authority libraries (Overdrive), a feature the Amazon Kindle doesn’t support.

Has a great side by side comparison picture of the new Sony and the Amazon Kindle.
Read more: Sony’s new eBook readers: first-look review | PC Pro blog http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/09/09/sonys-new-ebook-readers-first-look-review/#ixzz0zQWsZujm


Student Resource Center

The Student Resource Center database by Gale is now called Student Resources in Context.  This is the same format as Science in context and History in Content.  What’s nice about this change?  If you know how to use one you know how to use all of them!

Have you looked at the new format? Be sure to take a look.  It is a dramatic change from the old interface.  All the same great content is there just in a new format.

What do you like best about the format?