I Was Wondering....

Search Engines

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

If you are like most people, you probably have a favorite search engine that you use all the time. Chances are good that it is Google. There is nothing wrong with that, but once in a while it is worth the trouble to take a look at an alternative.

I have been playing around with Blekko and it has some interesting features, the most notable of which is its use of slash tags in the search query to limit results to desired categories. You could do the same with Google's advanced search feature, but how often do you bother to do that. The tags let you hone your search quickly when needed; if you want a broader search, simply leave them out.

Give it a try.

Book Recommendations from Booklamp

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:44:00 +0000

A new site called Booklamp claims to use a sophisticated software to analyze patters in a book's content. It then uses this information to match a book or author you like to other books or authors that you might like. There are many sites that claim to do this and some do it better than others. I tried a few searches and Booklamp seems to work pretty well. But it is new, so we will have to wait and see. Check it out.

Free eBooks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:33:00 +0000

If you are looking for a free way to stock your eReader, have a look at the sites towards the bottom of this page on our site. Many sites offer free downloads. Generally, these are for titles that are no longer under copyright, which means that many of them are older books. This is a great way to add the classics to your collection.

eBook Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:42:00 +0000

We will be offering eBook classes in February on the 3rd and the 15th. The class on the third is at 9:30 in the morning; the class on the 15th is at 7 in the evening. Since space is limited, we ask that you please sign up here or call the Reference Desk at 898-7064.

The class covers the process of downloading eBooks from Overdrive. Overdrive is a service sponsored by the NH State Library. Our contributions to this program allow our patrons to access digital content at no cost to them.

If there is sufficient interest in these classes, we will continue them beyond February.

So You Got and E-Book Reader as a Holiday Gift....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 15:06:00 +0000

A recent post from mashable.com is directed at new Kindle users. It is emtitled So You Got an Amazon Kindle this Holiday Season: Now What? While you cannot use your Kindle to access free content from our Overdrive e-book service -- the two are not compatible -- you can avail yourself of all the free content mentioned at the mashable.com link. There is a lot of it!

And, if you have one of the devices compatible with Overdrive, such as a Nook, you can also use the free content we offer, as well as the free content available elsewhere.

Night Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Here is a very interesting website called heavens-above.com. If enter your longitude and latitude or select your location from a map, it will tell you what satellites will pass over your location that day. It also lists other astronomical events, but these do not appear to be sorted for particular locations.

So if you ever wondered what satellites are passing over you, now you know where to look.

Business Databases

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:42:00 +0000

I don't do lots of business research (either for myself or for patrons), so when a business question comes up it can take me a while to get back in the groove. Yesterday I was reminded how cool our business databases are when a patron asked me a question about market share. I used Reference USA and Gale's Business Company Resource Center. The two make a good team.

If you are researching a business or an industry, perhaps to assess competition, you can look the business up in Reference USA, determine its SIC code and annual earnings, then jump over to Gale and plug the SIC code in to the search box and see where that company ranks as a portion of the industry's total earnings. That is just one example of an infinite number of applications for this team of powerful databases.

Here is a link to our electronic resources. You will need your card number and PIN to log in.

Google eBookstore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Google has joined the eBook fray with the debut of the Google eBookstore. The service is compatible with most devices. Unsurprisingly, it will NOT work with the Kindle.

Ebook fans have many options available to them, including Overdrive, which the NH State Library provides to our patrons free of cost.

Tax Time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:35:00 +0000

Everyone's favorite time of year approaches: tax time! We should soon be getting our forms in plenty of time to make the April 15th deadline. If you want to get a head start, the IRS makes almost every form available at its web site. If you need NH tax forms, look here. If you need Mass non-resident forms, look here.

The IRS recently announced that it will no longer mail tax forms to individuals and businesses. In fact, it would not be terribly surprising if they stop printing most forms in the near future. The popularity of e-filing and the presence of the forms on the Internet make printed forms unnecessary for many people. And they are very expensive to print and distribute.

If you are interested in e-filing, the IRS has links to free options here (assuming your income is below the stated maximum).

Auto Repair

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:01:00 +0000

If you like to work on your own car, you are probably familiar with the repair manuals in our print collection, but did you know that we also offer an electronic repair resource you can access from home? Auto Repair Reference Center from EBSCO has detailed service information (including repair procedures, wiring diagrams, and service interval recommendations). To use this resource, click on the link above (or visit us at kelleylibrary.org. Click on the “search” tab, choose “databases,” then scroll down to choose the Auto Repair Reference Center).

*Note that to use this service, you must have a Kelley Library card. You will be prompted to enter your barcode and PIN.

Kindle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:06:00 +0000

The Kelley Library has recently made a Kindle available for circulation. I recommend that you check it out and give it a try in the comfort of you own home. If you have never used an eBook reader before, I am confident that you will be very impressed with this new technology.

There are many features of the printed book that are unlikely to be improved upon (portability, simplicity, ease of use). Fortunately, the Kindle maintains these advantages and adds more. It allows you to have all of your books in one place on a device that is less than half an inch thick and about the height and width of a paperback. You can bookmark multiple locations. You can annotate passages using the integrated keypad. It has a built in dictionary -- just move the cursor over the word and a definition pops up. It allows you to adjust type size from very small to enormous, so even if your eyesight is not perfect, you will find it very accommodating. The Kindle can even read a book aloud to you (as long as the publisher has approved the activation of this feature).

For those of you who are not techno-geeks, you should know that its interface is highly intuitive and everyone should be up and reading in no time. For those of you who might wish to own a Kindle, you will appreciate knowing that you do not need a computer to use it since you can download books wirelessly from your Amazon.com account (though not on the Library's Kindle, for obvious reasons). Of course, you will probably need to set up an account using a computer, but you can do that at your friendly neighborhood library. If you are a fan of older books and the classics, you have access to literally millions of free titles whose copyright has expired.

Come in and have a look at it.

eBooks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:45:00 +0000

In addition to the great collection of downloadable eBooks provided by the NH State Library through Overdrive, there are many other excellent resources for free electronic reading material. The catch is that most free eBooks have to be in the public domain, i.e. their copyright has to have expired. Fortunately, this includes a lot of books, many of them excellent classics. Here is a sampling of sites that offer free downloads of eBooks:

Project Gutenberg was the first on the scene with free electronic books.

ManyBooks has an interesting assortment of eBooks.

The Internet Archive is an excellent source of historical texts.

Amazon has some free Kindle titles available, though I think there is a reason that these titles are free.

Freekindlebooks offers Kindle compatible classics.

All of these sites will allow you to download to various reading devices. You will need to figure out what software to use on your particular device. Smartphones seem to like either Mobipocket or one of the Kindle mobile apps (scroll down to the middle of the page).

If you are looking for new titles and best-sellers for which you will pay $0, then, of course, our free offerings through Overdrive is still the best way to go.

Travel Books

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:35:00 +0000

I have been adding new destinations to our travel book section -- new states, new countries and continents. These should be coming in gradually over the next year or so. If you have a trip you are planning be sure to have a look. If you can't find something that covers your destination, let us know and we will find it for you.

New at the Library

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:03:00 +0000

There's quite a bit new at the Library.

As you will have noticed, we recently upgraded our website. The new and improved site is easier to navigate and it has added content (such as a Reader's Advisory page) that hope we will make it more useful to you.

We now have a Facebook account so devotees of the social networking site can visit us there and keep up to date on Library events.

We added Mango Language to our suite of databases, so now you can learn a language online from the comfort of your home. You can also use this fun and interactive product here in the Library if you prefer.

Great Courses on CD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:48:00 +0000

While I am on an audiobook theme, I would like to let you know that the Library has just purchased a large number of Great Courses on CD from the Teaching Company. These are college level lectures delivered by professors chosen for their knowledge and lecturing skills. The topics are varied -- science, history, religion, language -- and there should be something of interest for all tastes.

Let the Catalog Recommend Your Next Book

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:49:00 +0000

If you are not sure what to read next, did you know that our catalog can make suggestions for you? It's really easy. First, do a search for a book or author you read and enjoyed. On the record for that item, click on the "full display" button. This will bring up a more detailed record. On the right side of this record, you will see several clickable options. If you click on "find more like this" the system will generate a list of read-alikes available in the Kelley Library or at one of the libraries in our GMILCS consortium. There are similar links that will take you to book reviews, awards lists and more!

Audio Books

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Fans of audiobooks (or of Neil Gaiman and/or David Sedaris) will enjoy this NPR piece on the format, which includes some interesting descriptions of the studio production of audiobooks. Gaiman is clearly a fan of the format and has some interesting insights on its allure. The link will take you to a transcript, but audio of the segment is also available.

Vocabulary and Grammar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Many people will recoil in horror when the topic of conversation turns to vocabulary and grammar. I suspect that this has a lot to do with the indelicate way these subjects are thrown at us in school: lots of memorizing lists and boring immutable rules handed down from on high. The truth is that both grammar and vocabulary are fascinating subjects that are both intrinsically interesting and useful for the formulation of clear communication.

The internet has a number of resources that make the study these topics fun. An excellent review of words and their origins is wordsmith.org, which offers a service called Word a Day. You can visit the site each day and be presented with a new word. Words are usually arranged according to weekly themes. Entries provide pronunciation, etymolgy, even illustrations. You can also subscribe to the site's mail list and have a word emailed to you each day.

If you ever wondered where a saying came from, have a look at Phrase Finder. Here, you can search for information on the origin and meaning of English sayings. You can also sign up for their free phrase-a-week mailing list.

For those interested in grammar, have a look at Grammarphobia. This site has a lot of information about the English language, writing tips and a grammar blog.

Of course, if you would rather do your work from books, we have a number of excellent resources here in the library.

Genealogy Resources at the Library

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Researching one's family history has become immensely popular in recent years, and here at the Kelley Library we have a number of resources to make your search easier.

Among the greatest advances in genealogical research are online resources. We are pleased to provide two of these, Ancestry Plus and Heritage Quest. Both allow you to search a wide variety of primary source materials quickly and efficiently. Heritage Quest can be used from home (you will need your library barcode to access it); Ancestry Plus must be used here in the Library.

In addition to these excellent tools, we have a number of local print resources that you are not likely to find elsewhere. If your ancestors spent any time in this area they may appear in these. Our print materials useful to genealogical research include Salem's Town Reports (we have these back to 1869). These include vital statistics -- births, deaths, marriages -- that may be useful to your research. Two published histories of Salem -- History of Salem by Edgar Gilbert and At the Edge of Megalopolis by Richard Noyes -- contain much material of interest to the local historian, as well as biographical information of use to the genealogist.

We also have published local histories for other New Hampshire and Massachusetts towns, as well as regimental histories and rosters for the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. We even have Salem school registers for the years 1850-1875.

All of these materials are available for use in the Library during the hours we are open. Of course, Heritage Quest can be used from home at any hour of the day. If you have any question about any of these resources, do not hesitate to call us.

Help Us by Reviewing Books

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Did you know that you can add book reviews to our catalog? It's easy to do and helpful to your fellow library users.

If you have read a book you like (or dislike), simply go to its entry in the catalog and click on "write a review" underneath the book's picture. A window will pop up asking you for your email address and password. If you have not already registered for this feature, there is a link to do that as well. You can register with your full name if you like or with a nickname or alias if you would rather remain anonymous.

Research Resources for Students

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:19:00 +0000

School is back in session and the Library has resources for every student. Students who are doing homework, writing a paper or studying for an exam and need some help can stop by the Reference Desk for assistance.

Students working on projects or homework will find valuable information in our online databases. Use EBSCO to search magazine articles; research US history with Facts on File - American History Online. There are databases for every subject: science, literature, history, medicine and more. All the databases are free and very easy to use. You can even access our databases from home with your library card!

Also have a look at our links to web sites that are helpful to students.

As always, do not hesitate to call us at 898-7064 if we can be of help.

Create a Resume Online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Learning Express Library -- one of our electronic databases -- will create a resume for you! All you have to do is answer a number of questions and the software will output your resume as a formatted PDF, or provide text copy that you can then format on your own or paste into an online application. This service can be very useful if it has been a while since you last updated your resume, or if you have never compiled a resume and are not sure how to begin. It's also pretty fun.

To take advantage of this service, visit our database page and click on Learning Express Library. If you have never registered for this service, simply click on "register" under "new users" -- all you need to do is enter your name and create a password. It's a very quick process. If you have already used this database and have a user name and password, simply use these to log on.

Once you have logged on, click on "job search & workplace skills" in the left-hand column, then click on "job search, resumes and interviewing", then "creating great resumes and cover letters". Finally, click the "add to my center" button to the right of "career course: creating a great resume" and then click "start this course now". (These instructions make it sound more confusing than it is!)

If you do not have time to finish your resume in one session, you can do as much work as you want in multiple sessions. Your work will be saved under your account if you log off, and you can start back up when you next log on.

Learning Express Library is a good way to make sure that you have considered all the factors that go into writing a strong resume. While you are there, you may want to check out the other career and test-prep products that are available from this provider.

Consumer Reports Online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Did you know that the Kelley Library provides full-text access to Consumer Reports through our EBSCO database subscription? Just visit our database page and choose EBSCO. To look at issues of the magazine, starting with the most recent, simply type "consumer reports" into the box marked "publication" and click the search button to the lower left of this box (not the search button at the top of the page). All articles have PDF images of the actual magazine pages.

If you would like to find reviews of a particular product, put "consumer reports" into the "publication" box, type your search term(s) in the search box at the top of the page, then click the search button just to the right of the box.

Of course, if you would like to look at a print version of the magazine, we have copies of these in the Reference Department. The current issue does not circulate and must be used in the library. All other issues may be checked out.

Updates to our Online Catalog

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:43:00 +0000

As the result of recent updates to the catalog, you can now change your user name and password in your account settings. This means that you will no longer have to remember your barcode number since you can substitute an easy-to-remember user name for the long number. You can also change your password if you wish.

To make these changes, first log into your account using your barcode and password. The click on "change logon" and change your password or logon (or both).

You will still need to bring your card to the library in order to check books out or use the internet computers.

Librarians Index the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Sometimes it seems that there is too much information on the internet to wade through and a Google search doesn't quite get you where you need to be. Fortunately there are alternatives to keyword searches in the form of web indexes that are compiled by breathing human beings, not machines.

We have a small one on our website here with something of a local slant.

For larger and more comprehensive indexes compiled by teams of librarians you should consult the excellent Librarians' Internet Index and the Internet Public Library. Each organizes information into categories and sub-categories and provides links to relevant sites that have been vetted by librarians as informative and accurate. You may not always find precisely what you are looking for, but when you do, it will be information you can trust.