Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Using Google Translate to Help Library Patrons

Google Translate Keyboard for Georgian Alphabet
  
Recently a patron came up to the Reference Desk and asked the librarian on duty to find an English as a second language conversation group somewhere nearby. What made this a challenging question is that the patron did not speak English, but he did know about a Google Translate feature which you can see in the image above. Go to https://translate.google.com/. Choose the language on the left that does not use a standard English keyboard (the Qwerty keyboard that English-speakers use) and select the language you want to translate to on the right side. So for example, if the patron speaks Georgian, he can type on the left side and the translation can appear in English on the right for our English-speaking librarians. By doing this, our BHPL reference librarian found a nearby ESL group for our patron.

Cool, right? Molto bene, non? Sehr gut! and so on.

If you like learning new languages, try our new language database and app 'Pronunciator.'

Related links:
Literacy NJ   
Google translate
Babelfish translator
LiveMocha online language learning

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Most Popular Books to Download from eLibraryNJ

Below is a list of 'The 50 Most Viewed Titles' on eLibraryNJ which Berkeley Heights Public Library offers to its patrons as a resource for free downloadable books.  I take this to mean that the following ebooks or e-audiobooks are also the most downloaded, or close enough that I won't quibble with their statistical vocabulary. Anyway, what follows are some popular ebooks at the end of the summer of 2015 in New Jersey. If you use eLibraryNJ to download books, you can put a hold on books that are currently checked out. eLibraryNJ has a free app from Overdrive (the parent company of this resource) for IOS and Android devices. search for Overdrive in your app store.


Rank,Title,Publisher,Format,Views
1,"The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander Novel, Continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series",Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,260
2,The Girl on the Train: A Novel,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,240
3,All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel,Scribner,eBook,182
4,The Martian: A Novel,Crown/Archetype,eBook,155
5,The Nightingale,St. Martin's Press,eBook,146
6,What Alice Forgot,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,137
7,If I Could Turn Back Time: A Novel,St. Martin's Press,eBook,132
8,"Alert: Michael Bennett Series, Book 8","Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,130
9,Thrill Me,HQN Books,eBook,128
10,"Go Set a Watchman: To Kill a Mockingbird Series, Book 2",HarperCollins,eBook,128
11,Silver Linings: A Rose Harbor Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,123
12,"Torment: Fallen Series, Book 2",Random House Children's Books,eBook,121
13,Wildest Dreams,MIRA,eBook,121
14,In the Unlikely Event,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,119
15,Kiss Me,HQN Books,eBook,114
16,"The English Spy: Gabriel Allon Series, Book 15",HarperCollins,eBook,114
17,"Otherwise Engaged: Ladies of Lantern Street Series, Book 3",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,114
18,"Beyond Shame: Beyond Series, Book 1","Tantor Media, Inc.",Audiobook,114
19,Purity: A Novel,"Farrar, Straus and Giroux",eBook,112
20,Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,112
21,"Nemesis: FBI Thriller Series, Book 19",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,105
22,The Stranger,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,103
23,Who Do You Love: A Novel,Atria Books,eBook,103
24,Barefoot Season,MIRA,eBook,103
25,The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony,eBook,100
26,"The Girl in the Spider's Web: Millennium Series, Book 4",Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group,Audiobook,100
27,"The Heir: The Selection Series, Book 4",HarperCollins,eBook,98
28,"X: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series, Book 24",Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group,Audiobook,94
29,Evening Stars,Harlequin,eBook,94
30,Circling the Sun: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,94
31,The Rumor,"Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,91
32,Luckiest Girl Alive: A Novel,Simon & Schuster,eBook,89
33,"Ever After: Nantucket Brides Trilogy Series, Book 3",Random House Publishing Group,eBook,89
34,The Liar,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,89
35,The Girl on the Train: A Novel,Books on Tape,Audiobook,89
36,Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,eBook,87
37,X,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,87
38,"Hot Ticket: Sinners on Tour Series, Book 3","Sourcebooks, Inc.",eBook,87
39,The Marriage of Opposites,Simon & Schuster,eBook,87
40,"The Target: Will Robie Series, Book 3","Blackstone Audio, Inc.",Audiobook,87
41,The Confession: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,84
42,"Dark Ghost: Dark Series, Book 27",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,84
43,All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel,Simon & Schuster Audio,Audiobook,84
44,The Taming of the Queen,Touchstone,eBook,84
45,Wonder,Random House Children's Books,eBook,82
46,"Bared to You: Crossfire Series, Book 1",Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,82
47,The Aviator's Wife: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,82
48,"Safe at Last: Slow Burn Series, Book 3",HarperCollins,eBook,82
49,Gray Mountain: A Novel,Random House Publishing Group,eBook,82
50,Me Before You,Penguin Publishing Group,eBook,82