Random Acts of Libraryness by James Laitinen at Salmon Arm Branch

As the great Austin Powers once said, “Allow myself to introduce myself”.  I am the new Branch

James & Roswitha at Roswitha's
Retirement Party

Head Librarian at the Salmon Arm Library.   Having grown up in Salmon Arm, it’s great to be back.  Thanks again to Roswitha Klawitter for her 18 exuberant years as Branch Head, and we wish her all the best in her new adventures.  We also bid a fond farewell to Colleen Smith, who worked 16 years at the Circulation Desk.

Random Acts of Libraryness

Maybe I’m being lazy with my first column, but I thought I would start off by highlighting some of the many services offered at the library:
• We’re more than just books (although we have a lot of those).  We have movies, TV series on DVD, audiobooks on CD, free Wi-Fi, workstations with internet access and Microsoft Office.  And people to help answer your questions (because Google and Siri just haven’t mastered the personal touch).
• Looking for something to read, but the library is closed?  You can download hundreds of magazines for free from our Zinio magazine collection.  Just a small sample of available titles:  Car and Driver, Rolling Stone, Knitters Magazine, Harvard Business Review, The Walrus, Shape, Us Weekly, Wood Magazine and many, many more.  Click on the ‘Zinio for Libraries’ icon on our homepage (www.orl.bc.ca), and start your own personal collection.
• If you’re having problems downloading eBooks or audiobooks to your eReader or tablet, you can make an appointment with myself or Alice, and we can show you the process from start to finish.  Just phone the library at 250-832-6161 or email us at salmonarm@orl.bc.ca
• Many of you audiobook-philes have probably discovered our collection of OverDrive downloadable audiobooks, but don’t forget our OneClick collection, which includes a number of Canadian titles
• Are you looking after kids yet in August, but have run out of reading ideas for them?  If you’re looking for advice, just head to the ‘Custom Booklist’ link on our website.  One of our librarians will create a booklist of 5 children or young adult titles
• Do you need to scan and email a document?  Our photocopier can scan and email a PDF copy of any document you need to send
• Did you know that we have books in other languages?  Our collection includes books in French, Chinese, Dutch, German, Japanese, Punjabi and Spanish.  We just got a brand new batch of books in Spanish.

Roots and Blues

If you’re going to Roots and Blues, and want to preview some of the performers, dig into our deep CD collection.  We have a wide range of titles, from headliners such as The Sheepdogs and Ian Tyson to emerging talents like Shad and MonkeyJunk.

Staff Picks

Ardie, our Youth Services Librarian, recommends Glimpse: The Dean Curse Chronicles by Steven Whibley, a Canadian author whose style is reminiscent of Gordon Korman and Sigmund Brouwer.    This is a thriller for ages 9-12 about, as the author describes “24 hours to save a life”.

And In Other Library News

• Saturday Afternoon Book Club:  Join Alice on Saturday, August 23 to discuss The Golden Spruce:  A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed by John Vaillant, which won the 2005 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.  Check out our branch webpage for upcoming book club titles (http://www.orl.bc.ca/branches/salmon-arm)
• We will be launching a new version of our catalogue and website in early October.  If you have been using the Enhanced Catalogue, the new catalogue will be quite similar in look and feel. 

Column by James Laitinen, new Head Librarian for the Salmon Arm Branch
This column was first published in the FRIDAY AM Paper

Beware of Summer Brain Drain!

Assistant Community Librarian Raphael Desjarlais.

     Raphael not only works at the Westbank and Mission branches of the Okanagan Regional Library, but she is also the School Librarian at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School in West Kelowna; consequently, Raphael is a great person to ask about book recommendations for school-age kids!
     Raphael and her family have lived in the Lakeview area of West Kelowna for the past 17 years.

Beware, Summer Brain Drain!
     A disturbing but well documented fact is that children’s academic performance declines by approximately one month during the summer. This loss, called Summer Slide, or Summer Learning Loss, or Brain Drain, is cumulative over time. Children who do not read during the summer can have their reading skills slip entire grade levels during the course of their elementary years.
     Children often stop learning in the summer and instead focus on indoor activities that are sedentary and involve electronic devices like video games, television and social media sites. Research shows that if they participate in summer reading programs they can actually make academic gains over the summer. In order to stem academic decline children need to be exposed to high-quality summer learning opportunities. The catch is, where to find these opportunities?
     One easy, free method is to simply visit the library. We offer a variety of programs, materials and electronic resources that expose children to learning and cultural experiences. The Westbank Library‘s Summer Reading Club offers weekly reading activities and cultural programs including a magic show, clown, drawing class, puppet show and balloon art. There are also weekly contests with prizes.
     Every study recommends taking children to the library to stem reading loss, so please visit the Westbank branch either in person or online this summer!

Series Recommendations for Summer Reading:

Kung Pow Chicken by Cyndi Marko
This series is an early chapter book for children who have just become independent readers. Low vocabulary but high interest content with illustrations on every page.

Bad Kitty by Nick Burel
Again a high interest, low vocabulary book with lots of illustrations. Appealing to both boys and girls this book is for emergent readers that can decode information from illustrations and contextual clues.

Nancy Clancy by Jane O’Connor
Transitioning from picture books to chapter books, the Fancy Nancy character with her excellent vocabulary now includes educational themes in her story lines.

Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer
Aimed at pre-teens and written by “Glee” actor Chris Colfer this series is an entertaining and imaginative story of kids in a fairy tale world. Even though some of the books reviews have been critical of Colfer’s writing, I have not found a child who did not enjoy the book.

Did You Know?
The Okanagan Regional Library’s website features educational databases as well as an online catalogue where children can browse for library material. One recommended database is TumbleBook Library for Kids. TumbleBooks is an online, multilingual tool that allows children to read electronically. The site offers story books, chapter books, math stories, puzzles, educational games and a library of animated books that is an excellent tool for emergent or beginner readers. Access this database free with your Library card!


Elena Dobel is the Branch Head for the Westbank Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library. Her columns run monthly in the Westside Weekly newspaper.

Auto and Small Engine Repair at the Library: Great DIY Resources!

It’s the perfect season to do auto repairs and other tune-ups in preparation for the summer season and the ORL offers two great online resources for customers to explore: Auto Repair Reference Center & Small Engine Repair Reference Center.

Auto Repair Reference Center 

In the Auto Repair Reference Center, you can find coverage of more than 37,000 vehicles from 1954 to 2010. There are thousands of drawings, photographs, and wiring diagrams to guide you.

To find vehicle repair information, you can look by year, name of vehicle manufacturer and model of your vehicle. You can find such information as service bulletins and recalls, repair procedures and diagrams, specifications and more.

You can also find general car care tips, “Auto IQ” videos, and troubleshooting walkthroughs to help you learn about your car. These additional features are found in boxes lined along the bottom of the Center’s page.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center

The Small Engine Repair Reference Center provides detailed repair guides for both routine engine maintenance and for more extensive repairs for such things as motorcycles, lawnmowers and boat motors.

The repair information comes from hundreds of reference books and manuals, and many include photos and illustrations for step-by-step help.

You can easily explore the Center by category, where you can choose the type of engine you need information for, and select the brand, engine type and model numbers.

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You can visit each of these Centers through the “View all Digital Resources” button found on the ORL homepage, www.orl.bc.ca . They can both be found under the ‘Automotive’ heading and can used at home or in the library, just sign in with your library card and PIN!

Great Information at Your Fingertips! Or, Why the Library Databases are Better Than the Internet

Get free magazine and journal articles online from your library!

As you may have heard, the library subscribes to a number of online databases

But, what on earth is a database? And why would you want to use one?

In the library world, databases are generally collections of digitized articles from the back and current issues of journals, magazines, newspapers and more, which are collected together based on similarity in subject. You can find information in the database using its search box -- type in a few key words and quickly retrieve articles containing the information you need!

Isn’t it easier to just look it up on the internet?

Using library databases can go hand in hand with your internet search and have a few added benefits! 

Do you want free articles from recognized magazines and journals?

 On the web, many articles from popular publishers can found behind a pay-wall, and you may be asked to register and pay to read the article.

 Using library databases opens you up to a lot more content then what is just freely available online and you can read articles from popular and scholarly publications you would normally have to pay for, free with library membership.


Do you want unbiased search results?

 Some internet search engines may tailor your search results based on where you are and what you have looked up in the past. This can be unhelpful if you want comprehensive information about a subject.

 This won’t happen when using library databases!


Do you want skip the ads and pop-ups?

 Finding good information on the web can get distracting when you have to sort through ads and close pop-up windows.

 If you want an ad-free experience, check out a library database.



Explore a few databases today!

This month, explore the MasterFILE Premier and Academic Search Elite databases. Both come from the same company, EBSCO, so you’ll find that you can use each database in the same way and you can easily switch between them (as well as a few other databases) once you are signed in.
MasterFILE Premier provides articles from many popular magazines, so you’ll want to use it to for general reference, business, health, and consumer information. You can find and read articles from such magazines as…

• Consumer Reports
• Time
• Scientific American

Academic Search Elite provides articles from more than 2,000 publications from various academic fields, many of which are peer-reviewed. You can find and read articles from such journals as…

• Canadian Journal of Archaeology
• History Today
• Shakespeare Studies

Try them out for yourself

1. From the ORL homepage, www.orl.bc.ca, click on the “View All Digital Resources” button.
2. Under the “Magazines, Newspapers, & Journals” heading, click on the MasterFILE Premier or the Academic Search Elite link and sign in with your ORL card barcode number and PIN.
3. Select the database you wish to use (by default MasterFILE Premier is selected).

And lastly, enjoy great information at your fingertips!

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Each month, the ORL features one of its eResources. Library membership gives ORL patrons access to a wide range of eResources that can be accessed from home and in the library. These eResources can be used for reading and enjoyment, to help you with your research needs, or to learn new things.
Bring the library to your home today!


 

--With files from EBSCO  

October is Small Business Month in BC and at the Library!

It's Small Business Month and you won't believe all the resources we have available at the library to help your small business succeed!

Let's start with books! Our reference staff have put together the following booklists:

Entrepreneurship
Human Resources
Business Communication
Branding

As a part of Small Business Month, we are featuring some of the ORL’s online resources that can entrepreneurs may find useful. 

All resources discussed below can be accessed by ORL patrons through the “View all Digital Resources” button found on the ORL homepage, www.orl.bc.ca .

Looking to get your business off the ground and need some guidance on how to write a business plan to seek out funding? Check out the Business Plans Handbook; it offers a wide collection of sample business plans and business plan templates from everything from bakeries, to specialty clothing stores, to photography studios.

To find a sample business plans,

·         Search through all volumes of this series using the search box underneath the cover image of the handbook, or, 
·         Click on one of the listed volumes to browse through its contents.

You can find full-text articles on business news and management from the following magazines in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs index: 

·         Canadian Business 
·         Report on Business Magazine
·         The Canadian Manager

For a refresher on how to search through CBCA by publication, check out last month’s blog post.

Do you want to read your magazines in full colour print-like layout? You can find these magazines, which focus on how Canadian issues affect businesses and entrepreneurs, in the ORL’s Zinio for Libraries collection: 

·         BCBusiness Magazine
·         Profit

If you are new to Zinio for Libraries, check out this helppage on the ORL website on how to get started.

Finally, here are some helpful links: 

Small Business Accelerator

Small Business BC

We hope you have a successful Small Business Month!