Friday, October 28, 2005

"Star Wars" exhibit opens at the Boston Museum of Science

The Boston Museum of Science will unveil Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, a $22 separate admission special exhibit, on October 27th. Those using the library's pass will not only get admission to the museum at the discounted price of $6 per person, but can get tickets to the Star Wars exhibit for an add on price of $5 per person (up to 4 persons). That is a significant savings. The library has one pass per day (up to four people), so call or email us to reserve your day. Ph. (603) 926-3368

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Links to NoveList from within our online catalog

We recently upgraded our online catalog software and it includes a nifty new feature. On any fiction title in the catalog you will now see this red, white and blue icon with the word "NOVELIST" on it: Clicking on this icon will send you into the NoveList website and, in most cases, the record on NoveList for the book you were looking at. Obscure titles won't be found here, but most common ones will.

NoveList includes a database of 125,000 fiction titles, 90,000 full text reviews, and over 36,000 subject headings. Features like "Find a Favorite Author," and "Find a Favorite Title" enable users to find information about their favorites, and find similar titles and authors. And NoveList's natural language searching - "fast-paced thrillers" for example -- makes it easy for users to successfully search full-text reviews.

NoveList has over 1,200 pre-constructed booklists in "Explore Fiction" and "Best Fiction" -- great starting points for users who enjoy browsing. Included are book discussion guides and "Read-alikes." Read-alikes describe an author's appeal and style, and discuss how the suggested "read-alikes" are selected.

For school media specialists and teachers, NoveList includes curricular-based articles and Picture Book Extenders, as well as specific teaching guides for using fiction in the classroom.

By linking to NoveList from within our catalog we have added one more way to access additional information on the books in our collection. Be sure to also click on the "Reviews at amazon.com online bookstore" link for more information on your title.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Teen Time Movie

In honor of Teen Read Week, our first Teen Time Movie event will be held this week, on Thursday, October 20th at 3:00 p.m. This month's screening: School of Rock, starring Jack Black.

The Teen Time Movie is open to students in grades 6 and up. Everyone who attends the monthly movies must have a permission slip signed by a parent or legal guardian. For more information, please talk to Cheryl.

And, if you really want to impress your teachers, parents, and me, why not do a bit of research to see what books the library has about music and musicians? It could be fun.

Book Discussion: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Attention Teens and Adults:

Did you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon? If so, join us for a special intergenerational book discussion event in the Lane Room at the library this Saturday, October 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Teens and adults who have read the book are invited to attend and share their opinions and insights about the book.

Zoom into Chompas

In the last newsletter, I announced that we had finally found a name for the new teen literary magazine. And now…I am extremely happy to tell you that our first issue has hit the stands! Look for copies of Zoom into Chompas on display above the periodicals, at the desk in the Children’s Room, and online. Although the site itself is still under construction, you can access and print a pdf version of the literary magazine from the library’s new teen page. Check it out: http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/teens/index.htm.

- Cheryl

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Rare Batchelder genealogy now available on the library's website

The library has placed a pdf version of the entire book -- "Batchelder/Bachilder genealogy through Rev. Stephen Bachiler's son Stephen Bachilder : (A correction of the work on this family by Pierce" compiled by Charles Batchelder through 1936 ; edited and prepared by Carl W. Brage, 1985 -- on our website at http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/genealog/batchelder/index.htm

This book contains corrections to many of the extensive errors in the genealogy of the Batchelder family written by Frederick Clifton Pierce in 1898, but until now has only been available in a small number of libraries. It has never been available for sale anywhere. The book only covers descendants of the Rev. Stephen Bachiler's grandson Nathaniel, and only into the 1800s, but it does make many corrections to previously published information.

Due to the large size of the work it has been broken up into five sections for easier download (the largest being 115 megabytes in size), and we also have made available individual pages for those who only need to reference specific parts of the work. Users are free to download copies of this work for their own personal use. Rights to the publication or sale of this book, in digital or printed form, remain with Carl Brage and the Lane Memorial Library.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Film lecture November 2nd

Ever wondered how movies work their magic? Ever wished you could put into words what you think and feel after watching a good film? If these thoughts have ever crossed your mind, come and hear Dr. Patrick Anderson, professor of American Studies at Colby-Sawyer college, engage us with his lecture "Understanding Movies: The Art of Film". As he states in his introduction, "Since the film medium exerts such a powerful effect on American culture, understanding how film is used to create and deliver ideas is critical. This program aims to show how film shapes and reflects popular attitudes and to give audiences a more sophisticated vocabulary with which to describe and discuss their film-viewing experiences. The lecture uses clips from a variety of motion pictures from the silent era to the present."

This free lecture and discussion will be presented on Wednesday, November 2nd at 7:00 PM downstairs in the Lane Room. The program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Lane Memorial Library. For more information, contact Darrell Eifert at (603) 926-3368.

Darrell Eifert

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Library Launches Online Book Club

Finding a Great Book to Read Just Got Easier

So many books, so little time. For all you busy people, the library
is offering a new service: an Online Book Club that delivers books
electronically. Each day, Monday through Friday, subscribers will
receive a portion of a book that takes about 5-minutes to read.
You'll be able to read two or three chapters from a book during the
week.

You don't even need a library card to sign up and start reading. All
you need is an email address. If you like a book, you can check it
out of the library. If it is a book the library doesn't own, we'll
get it for you.

With 11 book clubs to choose from, there's something for everyone.
Patrons can read General Fiction, Nonfiction, Romance, Business,
Science Fiction, Horror, Good News, Teen, and Mystery. You can also
listen to Audio Books in your email and there's even a Pre-
Publication Club. You can start reading books in your email before
they're even published. Now you can discover great books, even if
you're too busy to visit the library.

Currently subscribers are reading the following books:

Fiction club: Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
Nonfiction club: Our Mother's War by Emily Yellen
Teen club: 24 Girls in 7 Days by Alex Bradley
Business club: Then We Set His Hair On Fire by Phil Dusenberry
Romance club: Soul Magic by Karen Whiddon
Good News club: A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
Science Fiction club: Broken Crescent by S. Andrew Swann
Mystery club: By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman
Horror club: Unspeakable by Graham Masterson
Audio club: Joy Comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen
Pre-Pub club: What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris

Next week 11 different books will be featured.

You can sign up for the service at the library or by clicking the
"Online Book Clubs" link on our home page at www.hampton.lib.nh.us
You can also forward the emails to your friends. It's a great way to
stay in touch with friends and relatives that live in other parts of
the country.

Why not sign up today and give it a try?

Bill Teschek

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Teen Time

Here’s what is new for teens in the library:

Teen Advisory Board: Lane Memorial Library now has an official teen advisory board. The group will meet once a month to discuss (and implement) ways to improve our Young Adult services. Our first meeting will be held on Monday, October 17—the start of Teen Read Week 2005. New members are welcome. Talk to Cheryl if interested.

Homework Help: Two high school sophomores are now lending their time and expertise to our homework help desk in the Lane Room on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

Teen Time: On Thursday afternoons we transform the Lane Room into a (supervised) teen space. Teens in 6th grade and up are invited to come to the library to read, play board games, do homework, visit with friends, or just lounge around in a safe, friendly environment. They are even welcome to bring food into the library, as long as it stays in the Lane Room. Once a month we plan to show a movie during Teen Time, as a special treat. Because the line-up may include PG or PG-13 films, everyone who participates should have a permission slip signed by a parent or legal guardian. See Cheryl to pick up a form.

Zoom into Chompas: We have a title for our new teen literary magazine! Don’t ask me what it means, but the title won the majority vote from the teen advisory board and the writing group. Huge thanks to all who offered title suggestions. Look for our first issue later in October.

Writing Group: Although the writing group proper has disbanded with the start of school, the group still exists in Cyberspace, and some are already hard at work on their contributions for our second issue of Zoom. You do not have to be a member of the group to contribute, so if you like to write—poetry, stories, nonfiction, whatever—send your efforts to Cheryl for consideration.

Book Groups: The 5th and 6th grade group meets every other Monday at 3:00 PM. Books for the meetings on October 3rd and 17th are Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen and The Book of the Lion by Michael Cadnum. The 7th grade group also meets every other Monday (alternating with the 5/6 grade group) at 2:30 PM. That group is reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman for our October 24th meeting.

-Cheryl French

New signup procedures at our public computers

Over the past few months we have been changing the policies by which you can sign up to use our public computers. There have been a few bumps in the road but we're finally getting a solid grip on the new procedures. For years the library has had a number of computers that can be used by the public for Internet, email, word processing, research, or even games. At present here are 15 of these computers, but there are still times when they are all in use and it can be quite chaotic. We average over 2300 signups per month, and it usually gets busier and busier very month.

In an effort to try and better control the signup process we purchased and installed some time-control software. Now when you sign up you'll need to obtain a numbered pass code from the library staff. We have codes that will allow 20 minutes or 60 minutes of computer time before shutting you down and freeing the computer up for someone else. If no one else is waiting you can usually sign up for an additional period of time, but we do restrict the 60-minute computers
to one use per day between the busy after-school hours of 2 to 6 pm.

In order to use the 60-minute computers you need to have a valid Hampton library card and be in good standing (no overdues, fines, etc.) The 20-minute computers, on the other hand, can be used by anyone whether they have a library card or not. This is to accommodate the large influx of tourists that come to our shores, as well as many of the young foreign workers that come here in the summer. But many library cardholders choose to use the 20-minute computers as well when they only want to check their email quickly.

When you enter your six-digit pass code into the computer a timer box will pop up telling you how much time you have (either 20 or 60 minutes). The timer will remain on the screen unless you click the little dash button to minimize it and move it out of sight. When there are only a few minutes left the timer will pop back up onto the screen to alert you that you'd better finish writing that email or save your work before your time runs out and the timer locks you out.
If you finish before your time is up be sure to click the logout button on the timer so that the computer will be ready for the next person.

The library also offers wired and wireless access to people who bring in their own laptops, although not dial-up modem access. There are no time restrictions on using your own computer aside from the hours that the library is open, although with wireless, if you choose, you can work from the front seat of your car in the library parking lot in the middle of the night!

Bill Teschek