Monday, June 29, 2009

Looking Ahead with Freedom 6/28 - 7/4

Tuesday

"Daycare Storytime" 10- 10:30 am

"Poetry Club" 3:30- 4:30


Wednesday

"School Age Reading Express" 2- 3:30
- For children ages 5- 9. Registration is required for groups.

"Computer Basics" 2- 4 pm
- For adults with limited to no experience with a computer.

"Super Mario Brothers (1993)" starting at 6 pm
- July marks the return of the Freedom Film Series. This month, we will celebrate films based on video games.


Friday and Saturday

All PLCMC library branches will be closed in observance of Independence Day. Please note that while new summer hours will not effect Freedom, branches effected will begin not be open Sunday, July 5.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Library has PBS videos


Did you want to get/ receive that PBS dvd set of Ken Burns' The Civil War for Father's Day, but $100 was a little much? Well, The library has a treat for you.

PLCMC has some great databases of information, and even one or two for entertainment.

One of the more entertaining things we have to offer is a collection of PBS videos. And, boy, we've got a lot.

When you get to the PLCMC home page (plcmc.org), choose the Research/Homework tab as highlighted above. Scroll the alphabetical list of goodies until you find "PBS Video Collection," as highlighted below.



From a computer in the library, this will automatically take you to our video list. From home, you'll need your library card handy, as it will ask for your barcode number.

Once you're in, you'll notice the video collection is pretty complete. You can view all title, by series or by popular subjects.


I've been recommending this database of videos a lot recently. This summer, PLCMC is showing ways you can be creative at your library. Watching some quality, entertaining and educational videos is a great way to be creative and have fun in the public library this summer.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Looking Ahead with Freedom 6/22 - 6/27

** Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week we'll be having our Summer Reading Program from noon to 3:30 pm


Wednesday


"Computer Basics" 3- 5 pm
- A class for adults and seniors with limited to no computer experience.


Thursday

"Let's Get in Shape" 6- 8 pm
- Low impact aerobic exercise for adults and seniors. Seriously, this on is a lot of fun!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Library Stuff

This past Thursday, I attended and gave a small poster presentation at a library conference here in Charlotte.

That's right, Librarians have conferences where they go and talk about being librarians. I know, I was surprised too.

The poster presentation I gave was about how librarians can use blogs (like this one) to effectively communicate with other libraries and follow successful business models from the for-profit sector.

While at the conference, I got my brain filled with ideas about assessing library instruction. Here at Freedom, I teach all but one of the adult technology classes and I think I now have the tools to make our classes stronger.

If you want to see the pdf of my poster, you can view it from the link below. I was going to post it here directly, but then I decided to keep it on my server to make sure I still owned the IP.

Blog Poster Presentation

(The .pdf may take a little while to load. It is poster size after all.)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Do you want to play Rockband? Because, I think you do.


Rockband is going on tour in the library this summer!

On Tuesday, July 20 from 2- 4 pm, Freedom will be bringing the house down. Start a band, rock the library. (A band must be 2- 4 people.)

http://libraryloft.org/rockband2009.asp

That link. That link right there. Thats the link you want to click on. It has all the rules and information. Plus, videos- staring my friend Matt Roach from the Steele Creek library.

Now, here's the deal. If you want to play and be a part of the championship at the end of the summer, you need to register. But, if you just want to rock out and play with us here at Freedom that one day, we'll let you play. No registration required.

We'll see you there!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Looking Ahead with Freedom

Monday

"Internet Basics" 6- 8 pm
- This session is for adults with limited or no experience using the internet. We'll show you how to use and navigate the web.


Tuesday


"Watercolor Painting for Adults" 10a- 12p
- Just a good ol' time.

"Summer Reading Program" 12- 3:30 pm
- Stop by and read. We got prizes for good readers.


Wednesday

"Summer Reading Program" 12- 3:30 pm
- Stop by and read. We got prizes for good readers.


Thursday

"Summer Reading Program" 12- 3:30 pm
- Stop by and read. We got prizes for good readers.

"Let's Get in Shape" 6- 8 pm
- Low impact aerobic exercise for adults and seniors. Seriously, this on is a lot of fun!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Extra Friday Blagg Post

This upcoming Thursday (June 18), I'll be at the Metrolina Library Association conference on Information Literacy. There, I will have a poster presentation up about Library blogging.

I will post a pdf of my poster on this blog later. If you're going to be there, I'd love for you to stop by my poster and say hey.

The switch to digital television, as told by a librarian

It's okay, you can trust me, I'm a librarian.

But, I have worn many hats. Did you know I have a college degree in television production? It's true! I also once had an illustrious career working at Target- selling TVs. Yes, TV was once my passion- before it morphed into libraries. Sort of an odd transition when you think about it.


So today (this morning), TV went all digital, kind of. Some channels changed over before today and some are actually still pumping out analog signals. I'm looking at you WJZY. (WJZY is purposely being held back in order to ease the transition for some viewers.)

Why did this happen?
The switch to "digital" TV signals was actually decided by Congress, 12 years ago. For real.

TV companies and cable are not behind this. You see, TV over the air takes up "bandwidth." Of which there is only so much to go around. Traditional over the air broadcasts are actually sent out via FM- just like a radio. Video was sent out over FM, while audio was made up of AM.

But there is only so much of that frequency to go around. And to be quit honest, it got full.

Congress regulates over the air frequencies. If you want a radio station, you have to get it from the government. (It didn't always used to be like that, but someone had to take control.)

More and more people wanted over the air frequencies for communications. Lots of communication devices want this magic air space. Cell phone companies especially.

So in 1996, Congress decided that the best way to free up some of this communication space was to change how television went out. Bold move. TV was hogging up a lot of this communication space, and wasn't really using it very well.

By forcing a switch to digital, the signal could be much stronger (thus higher in quality), and use less bandwidth.

What do I need?
These laws also provided for ways of making sure people did not lose TV. Since early 2007, it has been the law for TVs to have digital tuners.

So Devin, what is a tuner?

Think of this like a radio. If you want to listen to a station, you turn the dial to that station. But older TVs do not have a "dial" capable of turning to new digital signals. It would be like trying to turn your radio dial to station 200- but it stops at 108.

Digital tuners are just ways to tune to these different numbers. If your TV was purchased since 2007, it should have a DTV tuner built in (it does not have to be "HI-Def"). If not, you can buy DTV tuners. And regardless of income, you can apply for and get up to two DTV converting box coupons. The coupons are only for up to $40, but most boxes are only $40.

Connecting an antenna to a DTV box, then channel scanning will find digital channels, and get you all set.

How it benefits you!
If you get your TV over the air, you're in for a treat. The quality of DTV is significantly higher. Its even better than cable or satelite.

Thats right, NBC over the air is higher def, and higher in quality than that same NBC from cable- even Hi-Def cable. The signal from over the air is not compressed. Nothing can beat it.

And oddly, you may find you have more channels. Digital broadcasts allow for sub-channels. For instance, in Charlotte, you will find there are 4 UNC-TV channels. You may find there are weather sub-channels. And some sub channels give you options for best picture.

For instance, a channel may be "HD" or "DTV" on .1, but "SD" on .2 If you like your picture square, or have a square TV set, the "SD" (or standard definition) version may be best for you. If you have a wide screen TV or you prefer wide settings on a square set, the "DTV" setting is for you.


As much of a pain as it may seem now, changing TV signals was set in motion over a decade ago, and for the people's best interest. In the long run, the switch has many benefits.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Playaways


So Devin, what is a Playaway?

A Playaway is a fancy little device that's becoming more popular in libraries. It is a preloaded digital book on tape (kind of like renting an iPod but with only one thing on it, and you can't add to it).

Some libraries in Charlotte have more in collection and on display then others. The Freedom Library is now increasing the visibility of Playaways- you'll find one on the cover of the most current "Freedom Flyer."

You can search the library catalog for Playaways just like normal books. If you are searching our catalog from home, use the power search feature. There, you can choose the option of limiting your search by collection. "Playaway" is an option under collection.

If you want to know more about Playaways, check out their website. From that link, you can also order your own Playaways, but lets face it, you'd rather check one out from the library.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Looking Ahead with Freedom 6/8 - 6/13

Tuesday

"Wii Got Game" 1:30- 3 pm
- This will be the LAST Tuesday gaming event for the summer. Check back for the Teen Summer Read Program.

"Word Basics" 2:30- 4:30 pm
- Learn the basics of using the most ubiquitous program in all of computing.


Wednesday

"Anime Club" 3- 5 pm
- Join us for Anime watching and culture talking.


Thursday

"All That Jazz" 11:30 am- 4 pm
- Thursday is going to be a BIG day in the library system. All That Jazz is a whole family event for kick-starting summer reading, Black Music Month and increased children events.

"Resume Basics" 2- 4 pm
- We'll show you how to get started writing your resume using MS Word templates. You don't need to have taken the Word class to join in on this one. No registration required.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Teen Summer Reading @ The Library

Is it summer already? Where did the time go? Seriously.

Teen Summer Reading begins next week on June 11, but Freedom has something special to help you jump start your readification.

Taking part in the Summer Reading Program gives teens a chance to have up to $20 in fines waived- assuming they have fines. There are also prizes!

At sign-up, up to $5 can be waived and teens will receive a coupon for a free junior bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's.

After hitting the 15 hours of reading mark, and other $5 can be waived and students get a recycled paper notebook.

And after completing 25 hours of reading, another $10 in fines can be waived and participants get a 512mb flash drive.

All in all, good stuff.

Okay, so, the Freedom learning more stuff: On Friday, June 5, we will be having an information session after school (starting around 1 pm). We'll get you signed up, give you information and suggest some books. The session will last until around 4 pm.

For more, visit libraryloft.org/tsr

Monday, June 01, 2009

Looking Ahead with Freedom 6/1 - 6/6

The calendar may look a little thin this week- we're gearing up for big events starting the third week of June. On that note- make sure you don't miss the beginning of summer fun, "All That Jazz," June 11.


Tuesday


"Wii Got Game" 2:30- 4 pm



Thursday

"Teen Finances" 4- 5 pm
- A short session on understanding credit and how to avoid unnecessary debt.



Friday

"Summer Reading Kickoff" 12 - 4
- This event will be our information session about the Summer Reading Program going on in the library system this summer. We'll cover what the benefits are, how to reap those benefits and how to sign up. For more information, checkout www.libraryloft.org/tsr.