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.
This year, teens are encouraged to experience something out of this world, expand their horizons, and Read Beyond Reality for Teen Read Week 2009, occurring October 18 - 24 at the Madison Public Library. The Library has scheduled a number of programs for teens in grades 6 through 12 to help celebrate teen literacy, including costume parties, a poetry slam, and more.
The festivities start early with a screening of the popular film “Twilight” on Friday, October 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Lakeview Library. Pizza will be served. Space is limited; register online or by calling 246-4547. A permission form signed by a parent or guardian is required for entry to this PG-13 film.
It will be a “bloody” good time at two Twilight-themed costume parties celebrating the upcoming November release of the “New Moon” movie. Join other vampire fans for movie clips, trivia, food, and more. Dress as your favorite characters and be sure to brush up on Twilight facts: the winner of “Best Costume” will take home 4 tickets for the upcoming release of “New Moon,” and the “Twilight Trivia Star” will receive a full set of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books! Register in advance to save your spot at one of these parties:
Funding for Twilight costume parties is provided by the Friends of the Meadowridge Branch Library and the Friends of the Pinney Branch Library.
Bring your friends to the Hawthorne Library on Tuesday, October 20 from 3:30 - 5 p.m. for a Guitar Hero free-play. We’ll provide pizza and soda to keep you energized for playing, singing, and rocking to your favorite songs.
On Friday, October 23 at 7:00 p.m., young writers are invited to bring their poetry to the Alicia Ashman Library for an evening of reading, writing, and fun at a “Bad Poetry Nite.” Register online or call 824-1780 to reserve a spot onstage.
Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. Teen Read Week will be celebrated at thousands of public and school libraries, classrooms, and bookstores across the country. Although teens realize the importance of reading, they have a huge menu of activities to choose from when deciding how to spend their free time, and reading often gets lost in the shuffle. Teen Read Week serves as a weeklong reminder to teens that reading for pleasure is fun, free, and can be done anywhere.
Add comment October 16th, 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
Wednesday, September 30 was Higher Education Day in Wisconsin, highlighting the importance of young people planning for their educational futures, and providing access to resources about educational options and financial aid. Middle schoolers and teens have the chance to add to their college savings with an essay contest, open to 4th, 5th and 6th graders in Wisconsin, and a video contest, open to 7th through 10th graders in Wisconsin. Both offer the opportunity to win College Savings Accounts from EdVest.
Four lucky readers won scholarships through participation in the 2009 Teen Reading Program, they will be receiving their prize checks in a celebration on Saturday, October 3, 12:00 p.m. at the Lakeview Library. KnowHow2Go representatives will be on hand to answer your questions about many aspects of going to college. Refreshments and snacks will be served.
Add comment October 1st, 2009 Alicia
The Lakeview Branch co-hosted an In Defense of Food book discussion and community potluck at Troy Gardens on Wednesday, September 23rd.
Thirteen hungry people had lovely weather to eat and discuss food at Troy Gardens, on Madison’s North side. Claire Strader, farmer for Troy Community Farm, brought her personal perspective as an urban organic farmer - and some of the best hummus and carrots ever eaten. Warm bread filled with herbs grown within a stone’s throw of the potluck site was served.
Kitchen gardeners, cooks, a school food service worker, a new dad with a degree in soil science, and an urban forager concluded there are no easy 
answers to a complex of food-related issues that include the pros and cons of industrial organic farms, home-cooking as a lost art, food pantries with their special requirements for longer shelf life and low cost and the ‘can local ever trump organic?’ question.
Local food writer Vesna Vuynovich Kovach wore a t-shirt to the book discussion and potluck featuring this clever cheese graphic, and got author Michael Pollan to sign it at the Go Big Read event at the Kohl Center on Thursday night.
Add comment September 29th, 2009 Katie S.
Board game enthusiasts: challenge your family to a battle of wits and strategy while playing some exciting classic and new board games at Sequoya Library Family Game Nights! On the last Tuesday of the month, September through November, engage in the fun of family play while learning to play some new board games which focus on analytical thinking, storytelling, cooperative and competitive play among other skills. Open to children aged 5 and up, everyone is invited to join in the fun - bring mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, uncles and neighbors! Games and instruction provided by local game enthusiasts. Games include Ticket to Ride, Quandry, FITS, Bohnanza and more. Space is limited, so please register for sessions in advance online or by calling 266-6385.
Interested in learning more about board games based on strategy and creative thinking? Read this short introduction from GatePlay (links to a commercial site).
Add comment September 24th, 2009 Alicia
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
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and Madison Public Library wants to make sure that Madisonians have the smartest card of all - a free library card. A library card gives you access to the library’s many materials and resources, including computer access, research databases, job and business resources, free movies and music, and much more. During the month of September, Madison Public Library will be giving a small gift to everyone who signs up for a new library card, adults and children alike. Madisonians are encouraged to take advantage of the many free resources offered at their public library, and will receive a fun reminder thanking them for using the smartest card around. For more information on signing up for a library card, visit one of Madison’s nine public libraries or visit us online. Read more.
Add comment September 2nd, 2009 Tana
