Posts filed under 'New Materials'
The Library has a new product that may work just as well for you. Transparent Language is an Interactive self-study guide on a USB drive. It’s an immersion program that enables learners to take basic vocabulary and quickly progress to more advanced comprehension and use. Grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening and pronunciation skills are emphasized through the use of native-language videos, texts and stories that immerse the user in the language. Each language edition includes:
- Record, playback and compare
- Conversation practice
- Interactive games
- Over 15,000 words of vocabulary
- Full-motion video
- Testing and scoring
- and much more
Just download the program on to your computer, and as long as you have any of the USB drives in your computer, your work will be saved and available to you.
Languages available are Arabic, Chinese, English for Spanish Speakers, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Look for Transparent Language in LINKcat.
February 22nd, 2010
Lisa
Starting in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the term graphic novel was first coined as artists and writers began to create more and more sophisticated stories using the traditional comic book format. With the publication of Art Spiegelman’s Maus in 1985, the violent and disturbing subject of real-life war was first presented through the format of the graphic novel. In Spiegelman’s award-winning Maus, Spiegelman shares the stories told by his father Vladek Spiegelman about life in Poland during WWII. Since Spiegelman’s Maus, the genre has continued to make giant leaps beyond Archie jokes and superheroes to such complex issues as war and wartime, aging and disease, and GLBTQ issues amongst others.
Now available on Madison Public Library’s Don’t Miss Lists, check out our new Graphic Novel Biographies and Memoirs booklist featuring such titles as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Joe Sacco’s Palestine, and David Small’s Stitches. While some of these graphic novels tell the story of such famous historical people as Emma Goldman, Martin Luther King, and Leo Trotsky, many of the books are firsthand accounts of the actual writer/artist at some pivotal point in their life story.
Ask your librarian where the Graphic Novels section is in your library today!
February 2nd, 2010
KathyB
Next week, we’ll be introducing two new e-newsletter booklists: Anime, Graphic Novels and Manga; and Art of the Picture Book. Both lists compliment Dane County Collection Grants from the Madison Community Foundation. Sign up to receive news about new additions to the collections, as well as upcoming events and items of interest.
Anime, Graphic Novels and Manga: Complimenting the Comics & Anime Collection, housed at the Alicia Ashman Branch, this newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the best new additions to the collection, hand picked by the librarian who selects graphic novels for the Madison Public Library. The first edition highlights noteworthy titles of 2009.
Art of the Picture Book: Complimenting the Art of the Picture Book Collection, housed at the Sequoya Branch, this newsletter highlights new additions to this collection of the finest in childrens’ book illustration.
If you are interested in receiving other email newsletters, please visit our Subscription Page to sign up for additional lists.
January 30th, 2010
Alicia
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, audiobooks and video for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting in Boston on Monday. Place holds on copies of the award-winning books available at the library:
For a complete list of winners and honors, visit the American Library Association press center.
*reviewed on MADreads.
January 19th, 2010
Molly
January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day. This is a great opportunity to celebrate and learn more about our black and white friends from Antarctica. Refer to the library’s Penguin Awareness Day Booklist to find books and movies for kids and adults featuring these fun birds.
If you are looking for more resources that focus on penguins, Crayola.com has coloring sheets, crafts for kids and sample lesson plans to use in conjunction with Penguin Awareness Day.
January 19th, 2010
Molly
Is one of your intentions this year to work on a healthier you? SELF Magazine places Madison at #8 out of 100 in its November article, The Healthiest Places for Women. Madison was noted for having one of the lowest average body mass indexes, and cancer and disease mortality rates are about 15 percent lower than the national average. In addition, Madison women reported spending more time getting fit than any other city in the country.
Start 2010 off right and get fit by taking advantage of the City of Madison’s many beautiful cross country ski trails. Thirty kilometers of groomed trails await skiers in 6 Madison park locations. Trail difficulties range from easy to advanced. Don’t have your own skis? Rental skis are available at Elver Park and Odana Golf Course on the weekends.
A ski pass is required to use the facilities at Elver and Odana Golf Course. Fees are $6 for a daily pass and $24 for an annual pass. These passes are also good on Dane County Park trails. No pass is required at Owen Conservation Park, Turville Conservation Park, Monona Golf Course and South Cherokee Conservation Park, so you can ski for free at these locations.
Complete listings of ice skating, skiiing and sledding information are available online. Find more information about Madison winter fun in the latest issues of Madison Parks News and Madison Parks Magazine, and view a winter activities photography slideshow on flickr.
January 14th, 2010
Molly
As the new year begins, and we settle in for the rest of the winter with “can’t-miss” books from the year before, there’s often a group of readers that goes overlooked. The cooks have their books, and the listeners have their audiobooks, but what about the children? Despair not, little library lovers! We’ve gathered the 2009 Best of Illustrated Children’s Book Lists into one place for you! Booklists from The New York Times, Nick Jr., Amazon.com, Publisher’s Weekly and more have selected their favorite picks; many titles appear on multiple lists.
Best of the best (number in parenthesis indicates number of lists on which the book appeared):
Looking for more great children’s books from 2009? Check out our picks for Caldecott Award contenders. See also the Charlotte Zolotow Award, given by the UW-Madison Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
January 13th, 2010
Alicia
Catch up on your holiday correspondence in the New Year with one-of-a-kind greeting cards. The library has many guides to get you started, from the very basic to pop-up cards. Our Greeting Cards with Panache booklist features titles like 1000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence. Even in this current day and age, where we are all senders and receivers of voluminous emails, handmade greeting cards, stationery, and invitations never lose their charm or fail to touch the heart. This book is a delightful showcase of 1000 exciting and contemporary hand-designed greeting cards, with examples that feature a wide array of paper craft techniques, including: paper cutting, paper stencils, stamping, punching, stitchery, monoprints, screenprints, paper piecing, and more.
You also won’t want to miss 50 Nifty Beaded Cards, which includes straightforward techniques, such as sewing, gluing, or wiring beads into decorative cards. There are projects for all levels, from the very beginner to the more advanced.
January 11th, 2010
Molly
New books have been added to the Local Materials Collection at the Central Library, including Madison by David Sakrison. Madison is part of the postcard history series and presents more than 200 historical postcard images from the private collection of Madison resident John Powell, who has been collecting and trading postcards for more than 20 years. The images here reflect Madison’s businesses, public institutions, civic life, and civic pride in the first decades of the 20th century. With author David Sakrison’s engaging text, these images offer a unique window into the city as it was, and as it saw itself, 75 to 100 years ago.
If you are interested in receiving email updates when new materials are added to the Local Materials Collection, sign up on our subscription newsletters page. BookLetters newsletters are sponsored by the Friends of Madison Public Library.
December 17th, 2009
Molly
You asked for it–you got it. Many of you have asked about the Summary Section from the print version of Morningstar Mutual Funds. You can now gain access to the most-current Summary Section via the “Fund Summary” link on the Morningstar Investment Research Center home page. Here is a little background on what value this addition brings to the database.
Commentary
The first several pages of the Summary Section contain the Commentary, written by our editors and analysts. Using in-house research, we delve into sometimes-controversial topics such as the importance of asset allocation to diversification, fund-company ethics, and investors’ rights. The commentaries contain some of the most innovative thinking in the mutual fund industry.
Leaders and Laggards
This section reveals at a glance whose returns are hot and whose are not. This section shows the top and bottom performers, based solely on total returns, for five time periods: year to date, one year, three years, five years, and 10 years. We also provide the fund’s Morningstar category, Morningstar Rating, Morningstar Style Box placement, and sales charges.
Quick Reference
The Quick Reference page contains keys to symbols we use throughout the publication, details of the Morningstar Style Boxes, our publication schedule, and a list of the Morningstar categories and their abbreviations.
Mutual Fund News, Views, and Research
In this section, we report on notable events in the fund industry and keep you up to date on the activities of fund companies. Whether it’s a manager change, the anticipated launch of a new fund, or a fund company merger, these are the events that shape the investment world.
Of course, if you are looking for the most current information on such things as fund prices, Analyst Reports, and performance, make sure to use Morningstar Investment Research Center’s fund data pages. These are updated on a daily basis and will be your best resource for the most up-to-date fund information.
Learn How to Rebalance Your Portfolio for 2010
In today’s economy, who couldn’t use a bit of re-balancing? Join Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance, Christine Benz, as she guides you through the process Wednesday, December 16 at 3pm Central Time. Log on from home or anywhere you have access to a phone and internet connection. To register, send an e-mail to librarytraining@morningstar.com. And, when you do, please mention Madison Public Library.
December 14th, 2009
Tana
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