The Great Courses and Pimsleur have come to Hoopla

The Great Courses are courses taught by university professors selected for the popularity of their lectures, and I have been a fan of them for some time now.  Now I can listen or watch many of them from anywhere, because Hoopla has begun streaming hundreds of the courses on demand. The Great Courses available at Hoopla are mostly audiobooks, but there many videos as well. You can get started with Hoopla at BHPL's All Things E page.


Hoopla has also recently added several Pimsleur language learning courses, including the Little Pim videos for children.  If your small child is afraid of that other early-language-learning creature, Muzzy, the green monster, then the Little Pim courses may do the trick with a panda in a starring role.  

Happy learning!

Preschool and Elementary School Online Learning for Children

Last week while visiting my grandchildren I spent time walking backwards, chasing downhill and up, reading stories and, yes, watching shows on the Nickelodeon TV channel. I was surprised to see 'ABC Mouse' advertised during a show about humanoid monster trucks that my three year old grandson loves. "Wait!" I felt like saying, "don't buy that stuff, parents, get it free from your local library."

Whether you are reading this from your cozy spot in Berkeley Heights, NJ or have stumbled upon this blog post by Googling and are somewhere else in the world, here is what librarians want you to know:

Your library has so many resources available for free and librarians hate for you to spend money on something we can teach you how to use without getting out your charge card. 

Libraries have done a pretty good job letting people know that we have books. Most people realize that libraries also have DVD's and books on CD. Many people realize libraries have downloadable e-books for free. Students may know that we have databases that can be used for researching term papers. But libraries also offer streaming and downloadable resources for children. So if your child or grandchild really, really NEEDS to be entertained so you can cook that Mac 'n' Cheese in peace, you can turn on a fun and educational library resource and know that the child will not be bombarded by commercials or unsuitable content while you boil up that orange goop or even tackle something more challenging.

 

Several online educational resources for children including ‘ABC Mouse’ are offered free from the Berkeley Heights Public Library.

Go to our Database links at http://www.bhplnj.org/databases-for-children/ to find ‘ABC Mouse.’ Sign up for a free account and start learning!  Preschool to elementary age children will learn pre-reading and reading skills through fun online games. Other children’s online resources include:

‘BookFlix’: Animated children’s books and read-alongs. 

‘Hoopla Kids’: Movies, TV programs, music and e-books that can be viewed on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Use the Hoopla Kids Mode by toggling to ‘Kids’ in your Hoopla app settings. Hoopla offers content for adults and children. Parents can toggle from adult mode to children’s mode in the app. Each BHPL card holder can view, stream or download up to eight free Hoopla items per month. One item may contain a TV series or musical album but that only counts as one item. Lending periods vary by title and format.

‘TumbleBooks’: animated storybooks that also work on iPads. Children will be entertained and learn while using ‘Tumblebooks’ and the other library resources for children. There are no fees and no advertisements! If you watch Nickelodeon TV and see ‘ABC Mouse’ and other resources advertised, don’t buy them before checking out the free access that your local library provides. 

 I wrote about these online resources in our monthly email newsletter, The Buzz, which can be found on the library website here. You can read the Buzz online or you can have a link to it emailed to you monthly. Come in to talk to the children's librarian or reference librarians about these fun online learning activities and other library resources which are free, free, free, did I mention that? It's hard to compete with talking monster trucks, but libraries are trying.

Simultaneous Reading is against My Reading Rules

If you have ever read one of my earlier posts, you know I have strictly enforced Reading Rules.  At the moment, however, I am reverting to bad habits.  Not reading more than one book at a time or becoming distracted halfway through a book are Rules I have been ignoring. Here is my current reading list:

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman:  (Hoopla e-audio) To say that Ove is set in his ways is an understatement. The man is set in cement at the beginning of the story.  Listening to Ove has made me miss a very dear, very curmudgeonly patron who died several years ago.  I can almost hear John’s voice instead of the excellent narrator.

Home Sweet Home by April Smith:  (OverDrive eBook)  This book is set in South Dakota during the days when Joseph McCarthy’s hunt for communists and communist sympathizers turned neighbors against neighbors and made everyone seem somehow suspicious.  It is loosely based on actual events and a well-known libel trial.  The details of life in South Dakota, surviving natural disasters on a cattle ranch, made the story even more interesting.  The earlier story from the 50s and 60s ties into events in the mid-1980s.

Washington’s Farewell: the Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations by John Avlon:   (OverDrive eBook)  Washington’s Farewell, when he announced that he was done serving as President and wanted to retire, as opposed to his first farewell from military service, was referred to and frequently quoted during the recent election.  It seemed time to refresh my memory and revisit Washington’s words, thoughtfully provided in an appendix.  The political scene was as frantic and frenetic then as it is now.  It was interesting to see the Founding Fathers jostling and evolving as the founding words had to be put into action and process.  I had forgotten that the Farewell was published in a newspaper and not presented as a speech.

Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe: (OverDrive eBook)  As a cat is easily distracted by shiny toys, I was distracted by a book by one of my favorite beach authors.  I enjoyed wrapping up in a blanket while visiting some familiar places in South Carolina, seeing some old friends, and catching up on the continuing struggles of loggerhead turtles.  I needed warm breezes from the ocean to relax after Ove’s frostiness, snow storms and floods in the heartland, and political firestorms when New York was still the capital city.

I may have already told this embarrassing story, but years ago I put down the book I was reading to make a cup of tea.  When I started reading again I was about twenty pages along before I realized I was reading the wrong book.  Somehow I hadn’t realized the characters had changed and I was in the middle of the Bataan Death March.  This is why I need to focus on one book at a time and not to try to juggle reading, listening, mixing fiction and non-fiction, and time traveling.  Reading Rules exist for a reason.

- S. Bakos 

To find ebooks to borrow, go to our All Things E page for Hoopla, eLibraryNJ and more downloadable resources.

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

Quality of Books Declining: not a new complaint

Whenever I hear that the quality of books is declining, I think of the essay by Washington Irving written over 200 years ago that posits that very complaint. It is not a new complaint at all. Is it even true?
Read excerpts of Irving's thoughts in this blog post 'The Mutability of Literature' from a year ago.
http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-mutability-of-literature.html

Take a look at the New York Times bestseller lists back to the 1950's on the Hawes Publications site, 

then take a look at this list of the Harvard Classics (which can all be downloaded free from this OpenCulture website.) The list of Harvard Classics volume by volume follows. (Courtesy of Wikipedia states the Open Culture website.) What do you think? Do the New York Times bestseller lists have anything to compare to the Harvard Classics?

Vol. 1: FRANKLIN, WOOLMAN, PENN
His Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin
The Journal of John Woolman, by John Woolman (1774 and subsequent editions)
Fruits of Solitude, by William Penn
VoTexts in the Harvard Classics collection (courtesy of Wikipedia):
l. 2. PLATO, EPICTETUS, MARCUS AURELIUS
The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito, by Plato
The Golden Sayings, by Epictetus
The Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
Vol. 3. BACON, MILTON’S PROSE, THOS. BROWNE
Essays, Civil and Moral, and New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon
Areopagitica and Tractate of Education, by John Milton
Religio Medici, by Sir Thomas Browne
Vol. 4. COMPLETE POEMS IN ENGLISH, MILTON
Complete poems written in English, by John Milton
Vol. 5. ESSAYS AND ENGLISH TRAITS, EMERSON
Essays and English Traits, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Vol. 6. POEMS AND SONGS, BURNS
Poems and songs, by Robert Burns
Vol. 7. CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE, IMITATIONS OF CHRIST
The Confessions, by Saint Augustine
The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis
Vol. 8. NINE GREEK DRAMAS
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Furies, and Prometheus Bound, by Aeschylus
Oedipus the King and Antigone, by Sophocles
Hippolytus and The Bacchae, by Euripides
The Frogs, by Aristophanes
Vol. 9. LETTERS AND TREATISES OF CICERO AND PLINY
On Friendship, On Old Age, and letters, by Cicero
Letters, by Pliny the Younger
Vol. 10. WEALTH OF NATIONS, ADAM SMITH
The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith
Vol. 11. ORIGIN OF SPECIES, DARWIN
The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
Vol. 12. PLUTARCH’S LIVES
Lives, by Plutarch
Vol. 13. AENEID, VIRGIL
Aeneid, by Virgil
Vol. 14. DON QUIXOTE, PART 1, CERVANTES
Don Quixote, part 1, by Cervantes
Vol. 15. PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, DONNE & HERBERT, BUNYAN, WALTON
The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan
The Lives of Donne and Herbert, by Izaak Walton
Vol. 16. THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
Stories from the Thousand and One Nights
Vol. 17. FOLKLORE AND FABLE, AESOP, GRIMM, ANDERSON
Fables, by Aesop
Children’s and Household Tales, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen
Vol. 18. MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA
All for Love, by John Dryden
The School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith
The Cenci, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
A Blot in the ‘Scutcheon, by Robert Browning
Manfred, by Lord Byron
Vol. 19. FAUST, EGMONT, ETC. DOCTOR FAUSTUS, GOETHE, MARLOWE
Faust, part 1, Egmont, and Hermann and Dorothea, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe
Vol. 20. THE DIVINE COMEDY, DANTE
The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri
Vol. 21. I PROMESSI SPOSI, MANZONI
I Promessi Sposi, by Alessandro Manzoni
Vol. 22. THE ODYSSEY, HOMER
The Odyssey, by Homer
Vol. 23. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST, DANA
Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Vol. 24. ON THE SUBLIME, FRENCH REVOLUTION, ETC., BURKE
On Taste, On the Sublime and Beautiful, Reflections on the French Revolution, and A Letter to a Noble Lord, by Edmund Burke
Vol. 25. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ETC., ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES, J.S. MILL, T. CARLYLE
Autobiography and On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill
Characteristics, Inaugural Address at Edinburgh, and Sir Walter Scott, by Thomas Carlyle
Vol. 26. CONTINENTAL DRAMA
Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Polyeucte, by Pierre Corneille
Phèdre, by Jean Racine
Tartuffe, by Molière
Minna von Barnhelm, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
William Tell, by Friedrich von Schiller
Vol. 27. ENGLISH ESSAYS: SIDNEY TO MACAULAY
Vol. 28. ESSAYS: ENGLISH AND AMERICAN
Vol. 29. VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE, DARWIN
The Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin
Vol. 30. FARADAY, HELMHOLTZ, KELVIN, NEWCOMB, ETC
The Forces of Matter and The Chemical History of a Candle, by Michael Faraday
On the Conservation of Force and Ice and Glaciers, by Hermann von Helmholtz
The Wave Theory of Light and The Tides, by Lord Kelvin
The Extent of the Universe, by Simon Newcomb
Geographical Evolution, by Sir Archibald Geikie
Vol. 31. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BENVENUTO CELLINI
The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
Vol. 32. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS
Essays, by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
Montaigne and What is a Classic?, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
The Poetry of the Celtic Races, by Ernest Renan
The Education of the Human Race, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Letters upon the Aesthetic Education of Man, by Friedrich von Schiller
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, by Immanuel Kant
Byron and Goethe, by Giuseppe Mazzini
Vol. 33. VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
An account of Egypt from The Histories, by Herodotus
Germany, by Tacitus
Sir Francis Drake Revived, by Philip Nichols
Sir Francis Drake’s Famous Voyage Round the World, by Francis Pretty
Drake’s Great Armada, by Captain Walter Bigges
Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Voyage to Newfoundland, by Edward Haies
The Discovery of Guiana, by Sir Walter Raleigh
Vol. 34. FRENCH AND ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS, DESCARTES, VOLTAIRE, ROUSSEAU, HOBBES
Discourse on Method, by René Descartes
Letters on the English, by Voltaire
On the Inequality among Mankind and Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar, by Jean Jacques Rousseau
Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes
Vol. 35. CHRONICLE AND ROMANCE, FROISSART, MALORY, HOLINSHEAD
Chronicles, by Jean Froissart
The Holy Grail, by Sir Thomas Malory
A Description of Elizabethan England, by William Harrison
Vol. 36. MACHIAVELLI, MORE, LUTHER
The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Life of Sir Thomas More, by William Roper
Utopia, by Sir Thomas More
The Ninety-Five Theses, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, and On the Freedom of a Christian, by Martin Luther
Vol. 37. LOCKE, BERKELEY, HUME
Some Thoughts Concerning Education, by John Locke
Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists, by George Berkeley
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, by David Hume
Vol. 38. HARVEY, JENNER, LISTER, PASTEUR
The Oath of Hippocrates
Journeys in Diverse Places, by Ambroise Paré
On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals, by William Harvey
The Three Original Publications on Vaccination Against Smallpox, by Edward Jenner
The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever, by Oliver Wendell Holmes
On the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, by Joseph Lister
Scientific papers, by Louis Pasteur
Scientific papers, by Charles Lyell
Vol. 39. FAMOUS PREFACES
Vol. 40. ENGLISH POETRY 1: CHAUCER TO GRAY
Vol. 41. ENGLISH POETRY 2: COLLINS TO FITZGERALD
Vol. 42. ENGLISH POETRY 3: TENNYSON TO WHITMAN
Vol. 43. AMERICAN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
Vol. 44. SACRED WRITINGS 1
Confucian: The sayings of Confucius
Hebrew: Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes
Christian I: Luke and Acts
Vol. 45. SACRED WRITINGS 2
Christian II: Corinthians I and II and hymns
Buddhist: Writings
Hindu: The Bhagavad-Gita
Mohammedan: Chapters from the Koran
Vol. 46. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 1
Edward the Second, by Christopher Marlowe
Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Vol. 47. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 2
The Shoemaker’s Holiday, by Thomas Dekker
The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson
Philaster, by Beaumont and Fletcher
The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster
A New Way to Pay Old Debts, by Philip Massinger
Vol. 48. THOUGHTS AND MINOR WORKS, PASCAL
Thoughts, letters, and minor works, by Blaise Pascal
Vol. 49. EPIC AND SAGA
Beowulf
The Song of Roland
The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel
The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs
Vol. 50. INTRODUCTION, READER’S GUIDE, INDEXES
Vol. 51. LECTURES
The last volume contains sixty lectures introducing and summarizing the covered fields: history, poetry, natural science, philosophy, biography, prose fiction, criticism and the essay, education, political science, drama, travelogues, and religion.

A Day at the Reference Desk

Q: Does the library own a well-known university's alumni directory.
A: We do not own any alumni directories, but we can search the 'Reference USA' database for people in the U.S. and Canada and we can teach patrons how to access that database from their home computer or by using library computers. Go to our 'Databases and Articles' page, find 'Reference USA', type in your library barcode number when directed.

Q: Can we find an obituary in a local newspaper?
A:We will be glad to look through online databases of 'The Star Ledger' and 'The Independent Press' and other resources that we have at the library, or we can teach patrons how to access these databases so they can search them. See above for how to get to our 'Databases and Articles' webpage.

Q: Can you help me download an ebook to my device?
A:Yes, we can help you do that. The best way is to stop by with your tablet or smartphone, and be sure to have all your usernames and passwords handy. We will help you download ebooks or e-audiobooks to your iPad, Kindle, Nook or other portable electronic device. Go our our 'All Things E' webpage for a list of library ebook providers.

Q: Can you tell me the resale value of a certain car?
A:Yes, we have the so-called 'blue books' which are really orange and called the 'NADA Official Used Car Guide.'  Ask at the Reference Desk where we keep them or we can look up a car for you if you know the model and make and year.

Q:Where do wildfires occur the most, what is the cost of wildfires and who has lost the most from wildfires.
A:The National Interagency Fire Center has a page of statistics that we found helpful to answer these and other wildfire-related questions.

Q: How can I find which cookbook has the recipe I want?
A: We recommend the app 'Eat Your Books' which has indexed millions of recipes. You can even enter the ingredients you have and it will find recipes to match. You can enter the cookbooks you own and it will find the recipes in those cookbooks.

Q: If BHPL does not own the book I want, can you find it for me?
A: Yes, we can tell you which local library owns it by looking in their online catalog and/or we can request it on interlibrary loan.

Q: Do we have downloadable travel books?
A: Yes, we have some travel books available from eLibraryNJ.com and we also have a database called 'A- Z the USA' and 'A - Z World Travel' which has information for travelers.

Q: What are the latest audiobooks you have gotten at the library?
A: If you look on our Wowbrary list, you can find what audiobooks were acquired by the library in the last week and then click back week by week to see what was acquired in past weeks. You can also subscribe to wowbrary.com to get a weekly email of new library materials.

Dave Coverly cartoon http://www.speedbump.com/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Apps for That - a blog update

About a year ago I posted about the apps I have on my smart phone in There's an App for That! 
Over a year ago, my children had encouraged me to update from an embarrassingly uncool and pre-Diluvian flip phone to a really cool smart phone from a well-known and very cool company that is known for cool computers, cool phones, cool portable electronic devices and advertisements that are so cool I don't really know what they are trying to get me to buy. (But has a very catchy tune from the 'Pixies', watch the Gigantic ad here.)
Before I go any further in my update, let me just say that this is relevant to a library blog, because libraries are now really cool too. The Berkeley Heights Public Library has a phone app, downloadable e-books, a website of course, this really cool blog (ahem) and a very strong presence on social media (ie: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc)
So anyway, in the last year I have added a mini-tablet to my arsenal of techie stuff. The mini-tablet is from the same cool company referred to above. The idea is that my phone and my tablet will 'sync up' with each other, sharing content and reporting it all to the same 'cloud' where my stuff (photos etc) is stored. And my devices and my kids' devices are made by the same company so we can video talk with each other easily without having the battle of rival hardware/software occur. At least that's the idea and that is generally the case except when it's not working, but of course, one always assumes that if one was just 'cool' enough it would all work seamlessly and I would be singing 'Gigantic' and not cursing when both my personal and work to do lists appears on my phone, but not on my tablet.
Here are some of the apps I have added in the last year to my phone and tablet. I'm not saying I couldn't live without them, but they are really cool.
Merlin Bird ID - (free) a bird identifying app that allows you to look up a bird by characteristics and then gives you a best guess list and the calls of the bird plus maps of where it can be found and other information about the bird. That bird with the little beret look? It's a Black Capped Chickadee. Who knew?
BuzzFeed - (free) which is basically the biggest time-waster ever and really fun. If you have ever seen those fun quizzes being passed around on Facebook about which Jane Austen character would you be, or what country fits you best, BuzzFeed is probably the source of those little quizzes.
GasBuddy - (free) for finding the cheapest gas nearby.
United Airlines - (free) for keeping track of my flights and getting a mobile boarding pass.
For real estate searching, I have Trulia and Zillow  (free) which are useful for house-hunting or just for snooping about house values in your neighborhood.
Animoto - (free + fee version) which allows you to make free 30 second slide shows set to music. You can use photos from your phone or device, upload them to your account and make a really nice little slide show very quickly. For a fee, you will be able to make longer videos.
Overdrive Media Console - (free) allows me to borrow ebooks from eLibraryNJ through the library website. The reference librarians help patrons set this up on their devices all the time and it is hugely popular when people find out they don't have to purchase ebooks and e-audiobooks.
Zinio -(free) also available from the library website allows patrons to download magazines to their devices. I love this, the magazines look great on a tablet and they do not ever expire or come due.
I also have the apps for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and GoodReads so I can post to my personal accounts or follow what other people are posting.

What apps do you like? Click on 'comment' below to let us know.
Here is the link to one of the library's Animoto slide shows
and below is another library Animoto video. You can embed the HTML into a blog or website. How cool is that?


Going to the Library

E-Readers: pros, cons & insomnia

The Dark Side of Reading

Over the past few years I’ve noticed that my infrequent posts are frequently a tad personal.  You know that I not only occasionally listen to country music, but I even have a favorite country song – Long Black Veil.  You know about my ever evolving definition of summer reading – from the ocean being mandatory to close proximity to a puddle being acceptable.  You may even know that my cats, Jake and Elwood, have library cards and reserve books that I would be too embarrassed to be seen reading.

What you don’t know is that I have gone over to the Dark Side of Reading.  Since a very young age I have needed to read for about twenty minutes before falling asleep at night.  This habit has been mildly annoying to bunkmates at camp, college roommates, and my husband.  Early in our marriage we established a few reading rules – no Janet Evanovich (laughter), no Stephen King (screaming nightmares), and no books over 300 pages (too heavy when dropped). As the years have progressed and reading by a dim light has become more difficult, I discovered the Dark Side.

This discovery coincided with my first iPad.  I had resisted an iPad because I already own a Kindle Fire, used mostly while traveling.  The iPad, however, is my shiny new best friend.  I know the iPad and Kindle share some features, but I like the larger screen size of the iPad.  We go everywhere together, including going to bed.  I love increasing and decreasing the brightness and font size. Even more, late at night when everyone else in the house is asleep, I love reading white print on a black background – the Dark Side of Reading.  In support of Kindle and in the interest of full disclosure, the Kindle would cause less damage if I dropped it on Jake’s head.

S. Bakos

Take a look at the library's 'All Things 'E' page for links to all of our downloadable resources: e-books, e-audiobooks, streaming e-books for kids, digital magazines from Zinio, and educational videos from Tumblebooks.

http://www.bhplnj.org/all-things-e/

aka: eLibraryNJ

Most Popular e-books loaned in NJ Libraries in 2012

Hot off the presses from the NJ librarians email listserv: here is a list of the top 20 titles (across all formats) in 2012 with circulation data:

eLibraryNJ -     Top 20 Titles of 2012
Title	Checkouts
Fifty Shades of Grey	966
The Help	765
Explosive Eighteen	735
A Game of Thrones	690
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	653
Unbroken	592
Fifty Shades Darker	577
The Confession	565
The Hunger Games	557
The Litigators	554
Gone Girl	524
Water for Elephants	519
Chasing Fire	516
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close	515
Dreams of Joy	513
I've Got Your Number	507
Fifty Shades Freed	488
The Paris Wife	475
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest	471
Catching Fire	470

To borrow e-books and e-audiobooks for your phone, e-reader (Kindle, Nook etc), tablet or computer, go to elibrarynj.com. You will need your library barcode number to open a free account.