Wednesday, October 30, 2013

New Online Book Clubs - Anytime, Anywhere

By the end of November, Emma Clark Library patrons will have access to multiple, low-commitment online book clubs, in which readers can log on and participate anytime, from anywhere.

After signing up online, patrons will receive a daily email from one or more books clubs they have chosen to join.  The email will include a short, 5-minute excerpt from a book.  If they like the “teasers” they’ve read that week, they may stop by the library to borrow the book and finish it.  If they are not impressed by the excerpt, there is no pressure to read more.  They can simply wait for next week’s book.  Each week a different book is highlighted through the service provider, DearReader.com.  Participants may choose from genres such as Classics, Fiction, Mystery, and Non-Fiction.

These book clubs are perfect for people who would love to join a club, but do not have access to one through family and friends.  Or for those whose schedules do not permit them to join a regular book club.  There is no obligation to read the book or attend meetings at certain times.  Readers may comment and discuss online – anytime, at their convenience – with other booklovers from all over the United States and Canada.

As a bonus, sometimes the authors are encouraged to join discussions of their books as well.
“We are excited that this will be a gateway to reading and discussing great books for our patrons who may not have had this opportunity previously,” says Connie Roberts, the Reference Librarian who spearheaded the project.


The book club will be easy to find on the library’s homepage, www.emmaclark.org, starting the end of November.  Click on “Online Book Clubs” and register your email.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Library Employees to Speak at Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, California

This month, Emma Clark Library’s Director, Ted Gutmann, along with Robert Johnson, Manager of Information and Technology Services, will present at the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, California.  The conference will be held October 28 – 30 and is expected to be attended by thousands of librarians from around the world.

Mr. Gutmann and Mr. Johnson’s program will feature mobile library applications and the steps necessary to design and develop an effective library app.  They will also discuss the pros, cons, and tips for a digital extension of library services.

“Emma mobile”, launched in November 2012, is a free app available for both Apple and Android.  It was featured in Computers in Libraries Magazine in February of this year and is rated 5 stars in the iTunes store.  As of October 2013, there have been 2,065 downloads for the app.

With this app, users can:
  • Store and display a digital version of their library card on their mobile device
  • Scan an ISBN and automatically search the library’s catalog to see if Emma Clark owns it – and if so, place a hold on the item
  • Automatically log-in to search online databases and check their account
  • Receive notifications about their items on hold, fines, and when their card needs to be renewed
  • Search the library catalog
  • View the library calendar of events
  • Get turn-by-turn directions to the library
  • Receive one-touch phone and/or email to the library
"This is where everything is going," says Mr. Gutmann. "Our computers are going to be these handheld devices, and Emma Clark is at the forefront of that."

For more information on the Internet Librarian conference, visit www.infotoday.com/il2013/

To download Emma Clark’s mobile app, go to http://emmamobile.emmaclark.org/


“A Library in Your Pocket”

Monday, October 7, 2013

October Art Display at the Library

Jeanette Martone's Face to Face: Drawings of common humanity and fragility of cultures

Outside by Jeanette Marton
Jeanette Martone works from photos taken during her travels to the developing world where she volunteers for projects to assist the local community.  By limiting color, and emphasizing texture in her pencil drawings, attention is focused on the essential elements of the subject.
Ms. Martone attended SUNY Purchase, took courses in botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Gardens, and also spent a semester studying design and anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Her works have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the U.S and abroad, including the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, New York, SXU Gallery at St. Xavier University, and Ai Gallery at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, Illinois. In New York City, her work has been featured in exhibitions at Artists’ Space, Lincoln Center, Marymount Manhattan College Gallery, and the New York Botanical Gardens.  Her work has been published in the magazines “The Artists’ Magazine”, “American Artist Drawing”, “Art Calendar”, “The Other Side” and the books “Portrait Inspirations, “The Best of Oil Painting”, and “The Distillery”.