If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll know that last week, we posted photos with plastic dinosaurs, yarn, and yes…books. Did you know that we often post things on Instagram regarding new books, fun programs, or just interesting things that come into the library…and we don’t post these things anywhere else? If you’re not following us, you’re missing out.
Drop by to see what’s going on with us this week. We’ve got our photos ready!
It’s always been a little tricky to find our website in a Google search online. But now it’s easy! We have a great new web address:
That’s right! We can now be found at http://www.carletonplacelibrary.ca
If you have older bookmarks, please change them now to stay current. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to use the old web address, and we wouldn’t want you to lose touch with us. The site looks and functions exactly the same way, so you won’t notice anything different once you’re there, but we feel different…more like ourselves!
Tell everyone you know!
While it’s fun to post things on Facebook, it’s also interesting to see what other people are posting. Our library follows local businesses, town Facebook pages, other libraries and many “bookish” sites. We can learn a lot about libraries, the book world, and also our community by looking at posts from all of these pages. Recently, we discovered:
The Carleton Place Town Hall was asking for photos taken by local residents capturing the beauty of winter in our area. Did you send a photo and use the hashtag #myCP ? Why not! You might be featured.
The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum is always posting amazing photos of Carleton Place back in the day, and this week, they shared with us a fabulous black-and-white of Findlay Foundry as it was at its heyday.
CBC Books is always a great source of information about upcoming books, authors, featured topics, and just delightful reads. This week, they shared a list of children’s author Barbara Reid’s favourite children’s books. She’s got some of my favourites on there. Does she have yours?
And the NAC English Theatre page had a great post about their English Theatre production of 12th Night, happening now until February 6th at the NAC. It has puppets!
But one of the best things about following a variety of pages is that often, we find out something of importance that we can share with our readers. This week, it was a call out to the community from our local food bank for non-perishables that will soon be needed. While the Food Bank is well stocked at the moment, thanks to Christmas food drives etc., the shelves will empty quickly as people tend to forget about donating. Don’t forget, food is needed year round, so when you visit your local grocery store, pick up a can or two of the following and place it in one of the Food Bank bins on the way out of the store.
A BIG thanks to The Blossom Shop for sharing this with their readers, so that we could share with ours.
Start following some of our favourites, and share some of your favourites with us in the comments below so that we can add to all of the great communication going on between readers!
Are you having trouble figuring out your email? Finding that new tablet confusing? Wanting to learn how to download eBooks or Audiobooks? We can help!
We’re now offering “Tech Thursdays at the Library!” Sign up for a one-on-one session, and we show you the basics, or help you get past that stumbling block. Give us a call to reserve your space with Caroline, starting today!
TheTeen Book Club at our library (aka The Nerd Herd) read and discussed John Green’s PAPER TOWNS. In it, a character obsessively edits a fictional online resource very similar to Wikipedia. His complusiveness is a funny part of this book, but it seems that real life has taken a page from John Green.
Recently, at a presentation regarding Wikipedia and its users, employees were asked who actually edits this site? If you’ve ever used Wikipedia, you’ll know that it is full of great information—some true and some not—most of which is contributed through user content alone. That means someone out there who knows a lot about a subject has taken the time to add his or her knowledge to the site regarding that topic. Is it always correct? No. Which is why many schools ban the use of Wikipedia when their students are doing research.
But for the most part, the content is probably pretty strong. However, the Wikipedia people set out after this presentation to find out exactly who was editing their site. And they came up with some very interesting facts. First, they conducted interviews with people who regularly contribute to or edit the site. They learned that a lot of these people were happy to work on a variety of subjects—whatever pleased them at the moment. Others were more specific and moved in one direction….like a user named Giraffedata, who had more than 15,000 edits to his credit…all for the same incorrect use of the term “comprised of” in articles. The Wiki people were VERY interested in Giraffedata, almost a God to some of them in the world of edits. So, they set out to find the person behind the screen name in hopes of honoring him with their own version of the Oscar in the Wiki editing world…a Barnstar.
And it turns out, Giraffedata is a 51-year-old software engineer names Bryan Henderson who has contributed more than 47,000 edits since 2007. And most of them are simply that one correction…..”comprised of”, which he replaces with “composed of” in proper form. He goes through articles systematically, week by week, and makes the change, determined to rid the world of his singular pet peeve. He even wrote a piece of software to help him find the newest additions to Wikipedia, and does his corrections each Sunday night. It won’t change the world, but in his own way, he’s making a mark in a unique way.
You can read more about Mr. Henderson and his quirky connection to Wikipedia right here. The article is full of pie charts, photos, and fascinating information not only about why Henderson does what he does, but how it impacts what you read. And if you are interested in making your own changes or additions to the information website, you can find out how to do it…well, on Wikipedia! It’s an arduous process, but once you learn how to do it, you’ve got a new skill. Give it a try!
We’re getting ready for something interesting in April. Not everyone is technologically-savvy, so we’ve decided to offer a “Check Out a Skill” week at the library. From April 13 -24, we’re offering half-hour sessions with one of our skill experts. Learn to use Pinterest or Twitter, open up an email account, or finally get on Facebook and learn how to use it!
We’re taking registrations now, so give us a call. No “skill” is too simple to learn, and it’s the perfect time to learn how to use that new device (or that old one). Where else could you get this for free? No where! Only at your library.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
