The South Central Library System is moving into a new building, and as a result we will be experiencing some service outages from Friday, November 20 through Monday, November 23. On November 20, LINKcat and digital catalog information will be inaccessible. Outages are possible through the remainder of the weekend and the following Monday.
Please call your library to check on the availability of materials when LINKcat is down. We apologize for the inconvenience.
In the last week we’ve answered our first two reference questions via Twitter. While it might not be the fastest or most private way to contact us with a question, we’re happy to answer the questions we see via Twitter or Facebook or our other social media accounts.
Which brings us to the answer to one of those two reference questions, which is more complex than Twitter’s 140 characters allow… One of our followers, in response to a post announcing our excitement that we now offer e-book and iPod compatible audiobook downloads through the OverDrive Digital Download Center, requested that a sidebar search category be created for Mac users to find compatible downloads.
Madison Public Library is part of a statewide consortium that runs the OverDrive Digital Download Center, a collection of nearly 5,000 downloadable audiobooks, video, music and now e-books. We can’t update the sidebar options to say “Plays on Mac” but if you look at the sidebar, you can choose either “iPod-compatible Audiobooks” or “View all MP3 Audiobooks” to find titles you can use. iPod-compatible audiobooks can be transferred to an iPod or iPhone through iTunes on either a Mac or a PC. MP3 audiobooks can be played on a Mac OR transferred to iPod or iPhone. Also, if you do a title or author search, there are icons for each title showing what formats the title come in. Screenshots of menus and download steps for getting OverDrive Media Console are on our Flickr photostream.
Background info: Audiobooks comprise the largest part of the Digital Download Center collection. Most are - for various digital rights management reasons - available only as WMA (windows media audio) files for playing on a PC or WMA-compatible devices. Recently, one fourth of the WMA titles became iPod compatible when users access the files using the most recent version of the OverDrive Media Console (software required to use OverDrive). As of today, there are 4065 WMA audiobooks, 218 MP3 audiobooks, 1000 iPod compatible WMA audiobooks, 318 videos, 178 music albums, and 232 eBooks in the collection.
The Madison Common Council adjourned for the night near 12:30 a.m. - watch the continued discussion live on Madison City Channel on your TV or online beginning 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 11.
During Tuesday evening’s Council discussions, an amendment was approved to explore the possibility of a community garden on the roof of the Central Library and another amendment was approved to ensure that construction would not begin until the tax credits were available.
Read more at City council agrees on Central Library plan (Wisconsin State Journal online, 11/11/09) or Laptop City Hall: Annual City Budget Live Blog, Day 1 (Capital Times online, 11/11/09) or follow the project on the library’s web site.
Add comment November 11th, 2009 Tana
The Madison Common Council begins discussing the 2010 Capital and Operating Budgets today at 5:30 in Room 201 of the City-County Building at 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Not able to attend? Watch the meeting live on Madison City Channel on your TV or online or view the Mayor’s most recent blog comments.
Do you have questions about the public library project? View background information about the project on our web site. It’s not too late to contact your alderperson to show your support or ask your questions, or to sign up for updates on the project.
Add comment November 10th, 2009 Tana
A picture is worth a thousand words, and what wonderful stories those pictures tell! On Sunday, November 8 at 2:00 p.m., join Ginny Moore Kruse, Director Emeritus of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center of UW-Madison (CCBC) in the James Watrous Gallery of the Overture Center for the Arts for a discussion of The Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration, on display now through December 6th. The exhibit features the works of several of Wisconsin’s most accomplished illustrators of children’s books, including Lois Ehlert, Kevin Henkes, and Ellen Raskin. Bring the family and pick out your favorite art, then stop in the Central Library to check out some picture books (we’re open 1 - 5 p.m. on Sundays). Also on the 8th, stop by the Madison Children’s Museum for a diorama workshop from 1 - 3 p.m. Registration is required; contact McKenzie Glynn at mglynn@madisonchildrensmuseum.org or call 256-6445 ext. 18.
Save the date for an evening with Kathleen Horning, Director of the CCBC. On Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m. at the Sequoya Library, join us for a presentation about picture book illustration with slides of art from recently published picture books. Horning is the author of From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books, a look at some of the best in children’s literature and a guide to selecting and suggesting books for young children. School Library Journal deems her “one of the most influential librarians you’ll ever meet - and one of the kindest.” She has served on the Newbery Award Committee, the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, and many more, and worked at the Madison Public Library as a children’s librarian for a number of years. Horning recently wrote an article on Wisconsin picture book illustrators for the Fall 2009 issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas Magazine.
Although Horning’s presentation is intended for adults, interested children ages 10 and up are welcome to join us. Register online or call 266-6385. This event is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Madison Community Foundation to the Sequoya Library to develop the Art of the Picture Book Collection.
Add comment November 4th, 2009 Alicia
If you have the need or desire to collect demographic data, you must try DemographicsNow Now! So easy to use–you can customize results by geography, choosing the area best suited to your needs. Established businesses, prospective entrepreneurs, business students, and anyone who needs to identify cultural patterns or sociological trends will benefit from this ultra flexible marketing tool. Listen to a 3 minute introductory webcast or be guided through more detailed search tips. Access to DemographicsNow is made possible through a Madison Community Foundation collection grant to the Central Library for small business and entrepreneurship. The database was chosen with the input of several area business and entrepreneur groups.
And there’s more! If you’d like to search both Madison Newspapers or the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, whether it’s for an article, an obituary, or just to browse a day’s events, you’ll find NewsBank to be just the ticket. NewsBank is an easy-to-use newspaper archive containing full text articles from the Wisconsin State Journal (1989- present), Capital Times (1989- present), and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1990-present). Updated daily, entries exclude advertisements, employment ads and classifieds. You’ll find detailed searching information here. Due to licensing restrictions, both DemographicsNow and NewsBank are only available to customers who visit a Madison Public Library and remotely to Madison residents with valid library cards. We are in the process of arranging access through the library’s wireless networks for those who want to use the database in the library but on their own machines.
These are the newest additions to the library’s extensive list of databases. Searching from home has never been easier.
Add comment October 7th, 2009 terrymc
Tonight, Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00 p.m., join Wisconsin Public Television and the Madison Public Library at the Central Library for the first in a series of screenings and discussions of the premiere of “The Botany of Desire - The Film”. This event is being held in conjunction with the UW-Madison Go Big Read common book program.
The apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato are the stars of the film adaptation of journalist Michael Pollan’s best-selling book, The Botany of Desire. The entire film will be shown over the course of four weeks, in 30 minute segments, with discussions led by guest speakers after the screenings, at the Central Library. The schedule of screenings follows the structure of Pollan’s book:
The full two-hour film will be airing on Wisconsin Public Television on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. More information about all Go Big Read events at Madison Public Library. Check out a preview from WPT.
Add comment October 6th, 2009 Alicia
Would you like a chance to discuss plans for a new Central Library with members of the Madison Public Library Board? Bring your questions to a series of meetings at multiple branch locations beginning on Monday, September 21.
Unable to attend? Want to be notified about upcoming meetings? Sign up for email updates.
Join us for the second annual Conversation & Cocktails, featuring guest speaker Michael Feldman, held on Saturday, October 24 from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Sundance Cinema Bar Bistro (403 N. Midvale Blvd.).
Michael Feldman, Madison’s own premiere conversationalist and interviewer as host of NPR’s radio show, “Whad’ya Know,” will share his wry observations on life at this intimate event. There will also be time for “turning the tables” on him and getting in a few questions of our own. Our evening of good talk and laughter will begin in the Sundance Cinema Bar Bistro with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by Feldman’s talk in the theater.
Conversation & Cocktails benefits the operations of the Madison Public Library Foundation, which in turn supports many important services of the Madison Public Library. This event is your opportunity to have a great time and contribute to the many needed resources and programs the Madison Public Library provides our community.
Tickets to Conversation & Cocktails are $75 per person. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Space is limited. Download the reservation form in PDF format. For more information, contact Terrie Goren, Foundation Director, at 266-6318 or by e-mail at mplfoundation@cityofmadison.com.
Add comment September 18th, 2009 Alicia
Each year our librarians spend hours preparing for, conducting, and evaluating our Summer Library Program. Why do we do it? Research shows us that summer is a time of learning loss for many students who don’t have access to summer learning opportunities. By providing Madison students with a no-cost, self-paced program based on reading incentives, we’re encouraging students to continue learning and practicing their reading skills throughout the summer. This is central to our mission as a library.
Special thanks to this year’s sponsors for their financial or in-kind support: Madison Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Madison Public Library, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Overture Center for the Arts, Rocky Rococo’s Pizza, Noodles & Company, Madison Mallards Baseball, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA), EdVest, KnowHow2GoWisconsin, and the South Central Library System. Thanks also the 6,064 participants for their enthusiasm, to parents, teachers and caregivers for their encouragement, and to our many community partners.
For more about this year’s Summer Library Program in Madison, read Samara Kalk Derby’s Capital Times recent article For love of books: Reading program aids kids.
Photo by Peter Patau.
Add comment September 15th, 2009 Tana
