Check Out Our New Site!

We have a new online catalog!

Starting today, we have a fancy new online catalog that will allow you to do SO much more! It’s a fresh new layout, with many more options like accessing eBooks and Audiobooks directly from our catalog, viewing our program schedule, and now, you can even make a donation to the library!

Where can I find it?

You can now access the Carleton Place Public Library at  http://olco.canlib.ca/client/cp  ! Yes, it’s almost the same address as the old one, but don’t be fooled….the content is MUCH better! Drop by to see what you can do, and let us know if you have any problems.  We’re all learning at this point, but we think you’ll enjoy the new format.

What can I do?

Like before, you can log in using your library card and PIN, and access all of your user information.  You’ll see what books you have out, be able to place holds and renew books, and browse the catalog. But now, you’ll also have access to all of the eBooks and Audiobooks OverDrive has available….right through our catalog. And we’ve purchased a few great books for our patrons, available as eBooks, so expect to have access to some great titles without the long wait!

You can find out information about getting books for shut-ins, museum pass information, and you can now even read the minutes from the last Library Board Meeting online! If you have children, all of our programs for the younger set are listed in their own part of the site, and also for teens and adults. Stop by the Library News widget to see if we have anything exciting going on. There are so many great options now, you’ll be visiting the site more often than ever!

What are all those books scrolling across the top of the page?

Now you’ll be able to see the newest books available at the library. Whenever we add new purchases to the library, you’ll see the book cover appear near the top of the page. Just click on it to place a hold or download an eBook or audiobook version. It’s really easy!

Why make a donation to the library?

The Carleton Place Public Library is a registered charity, so we always accept donations to help purchase new books or materials to make our service even better for our patrons. Any donation over $10 will provide you with a tax receipt, so if you can’t decide where to donate this year, please consider the library.

What do all those funny symbols mean beside the titles?

For now, just ignore those. We’re working on making the searching experience even easier, but as with any new venture, there are a few wrinkles to be ironed out. In the meantime, please read the record carefully and look for things like  DVD or ePub or MP3 to distinguish the regular paper version of the books from audiobooks, eBooks or DVDs. We hope it won’t be too tricky, but we don’t want patrons placing holds on formats they aren’t expecting. Don’t worry, it’ll all come together soon enough!

Let us know what you think! Do you like the new site? Have you found any tricky spots that need clarification? Do you need help? Drop by the library, send us an email, or give us a call and we’ll try to sort everything out for you. Happy surfing!

Hyperbole and a Half

If you’ve ever dropped by the blog called “Hyperbole and a Half”, you’ll know all about Allie Brosh’s hilarious take on the world. She uses simplistic drawings and wry humour to convey her views on the world. Drop by to read a few of her most recent posts and you’ll see what I mean. (You’ll probably also become addicted to visiting her site, so plan on a few wasted minutes each day!)

And if you’re not the type to read blogs, you can always drop into the library to pick up her book, also titled, HYPERBOLE AND A HALF. It’s filled with many of per most popular posts, and I’m sure there will be a sequel at some point, so her fans can rejoice. It’s just one of the fun selections we offer up at the library. A little bit unexpected, but a lot of fun!

Illustrations Galore!

It’s Wednesday morning, and that means it’s Storytime at the library. One of my favourite things about picture books are the illustrations.  When they’re done right, they can elevate a wonderful story to become something superb!  And if you haven’t read a picture book since you were a kid, things have changed a lot. There are many wonderful illustrators out there doing sophisticated and creative work to go along with imaginative texts.

Lauren Castillo’s  StudioCastillo on Instagram

I follow quite a few illustrators on Facebook and Instagram, so when I came across this great post at Sharpread about wonderful illustrators to follow on Instagram, I jumped right on it.  It’s the perfect medium for instant, small illustrations that can stand on their own.  And who wouldn’t want to see one of these adorable pictures in their feed? I’m kind of getting tired of super macro flower shots and selfies.

You can see the full list right here and get a feel for their work. I’m going to go and follow some of these right now. I hope you do, too!

 

Frivolous Friday Pinterest Book Deal!

Several months ago, I came across a funny story about a woman named Tiffany Beveridge, who only had two sons, but had created a wildly imaginative Pinterest Board for a daughter she didn’t have. In this board, she pinned wonderful, stylish and sometimes crazy photos of clothes for her little imaginary fashionista. She named her daughter Quinoa and wrote creative captions on many of the pins, creating a little story about the girl she imagined would wear all this stuff. It made me laugh, but I thought, how smart!

And after a lot of global attention (books, TV, online), she now has a book coming out called “HOW TO QUINOA : LIFE LESSONS FROM MY IMAGINARY WELL-DRESSED DAUGHTER”.

 

She never set out to make a big splash on social media, but her humour and inventive creation caught on with so many people, she’s thrilled at the attention. Just a little something for you to think about as we head into the weekend. How about creating your own Pinterest Board!

Do you waste time?

It’s that time again….Frivolous Friday! Just a little bit of fun to get you through the weekend. And what are we talking about this week? FACEBOOK!

We all spend too much time scrolling through our newsfeed to see what fun and exciting things our friends are doing. And don’t forget all that time it takes to post your own great status updates, photos and videos. Just to share a post on your own timeline can take about a minute, if you’re adding a comment. So, just how much time do you waste on Facebook? Time Magazine has come up with a way to find out.

Facebook has been around for 10 years now. Hard to believe, isn’t it?  And while many of us make claims that we don’t use it very much, you might not be as accurate as you think. While Facebook doesn’t post data about how often their users log on, Time has created an app that will calculate your time spent on the site based on the timestamps on every post in their feed.  Just log in, allow their app to scan your feed and they’ll give you some very interesting results. Don’t worry, this will not be posted on your Facebook page. (Just click on the TIME magazine link above to be taken to the page).

While it tells me the average person spends 17 minutes on Facebook, our library results were less than accurate, I think. Even though it shows we’ve been online since June 30, 2010, it only recorded 18 posts….and if you follow us on Facebook, we have plenty more than that. Plus, it said we waste ZERO time on the site!  While I’d like to brag about that (yes, all of the time we spend there is important and not wasted at all), I’m hoping your records might be a little closer to the truth. Try it and let us know!

Popular!

For our Frivolous Friday post, if you’ve ever wasted precious minutes looking at Grumpy Cat on the internet:

…you might like a few new outlets for your visual interests. But you could spend a lot of time following links on Facebook, running through Tumblr feeds and flipping through Instagram posts to find the best images on the web right now. So when I came across Oublio, I was hooked! It organizes the most popular images on the web right now into one easy format. Just click the type of social media you’re most interested in, and up pops the image receiving the most views at any particular moment.

Keep in mind, sometimes the images are not for everyone, but they change often. And usually, they’re really fascinating! So, if you have a minute to pop to the site, that’s all it takes.  You’ll definitely want to bookmark this page to come back to later. It’ll be your new instant web crush!

Wattpad: The Youtube of Books!

The universe has a strange way of connecting you to things repeatedly once you hear about them. It all started a short time ago when I heard about Margaret Atwood using a variety of new platforms to showcase her writing. Instead of solely releasing books in print or eBook format, many writers—Atwood included—are turning to releasing short stories, alternate chapters, serials and even prequels to existing books in their collections online, most never to be released in print form.

And now, it’s taking off, becoming what some are calling the “YouTube” of books and writing! If you’ve ever seen a Youtube video go viral, you’ll know what I mean. The new writing platforms–sites such as Byliner and Wattpad–are making stars out of regular people writing fanfiction, as well as original works, and allowing established writers to keep their fans satisfied until their next books are released. The exciting thing about it is that many authors are being scouted by the traditional publishing industry now, too. If their works are especially popular, you can bet publishers are taking note. Maybe this will be the new form of slush pile.

We’ve discussed fanfiction before. If you don’t remember, it’s something written based on an existing book. For example, if someone loved the Harry Potter series, they might write a story based on the life of Hermione prior to attending Hogwarts, from her point of view. Fanfiction like this is not intended to be published (and would be considered plagiarism), but is perfectly acceptable in online platforms.  Many times, fans of a series just want more….more story, more backstory, more of other characters….and fanfiction satisfies that need.

Recently, I read a fabulous Young Adult/New Adult book by Rainbow Rowell called FANGIRL, which deals with this idea exactly. In it, Cather Avery has a huge online following of her fanfiction on a platform very similar to Wattpad or Byliner, which presents an alternate version of her favourite books (loosely based on the Harry Potter series). Wanting to be a writer, she already has thousands of fans of her work, which is more than any young writer could want….except that she doesn’t want to write her “own” stories. Tricky problem.

If you’re interested in following some new authors, or maybe some of your favourite established authors, these platforms are important to check out. You might find yourself returning to read more and more…or maybe even post something yourself!