Buddha dog by SuperFantastic on Flickr

Are you curious about meditation?  One of my co-workers is taking a meditation class, and since it is something I’ve always wanted to try,  I decided to take a look at what the library has on the subject.

It turns out the library has a lot of material in print, on CD, on DVD, in audiobook and ebook format.    The examples I’ve listed here are resources appropriate for folks new to meditation.  Most of the titles are recent and I’ve included a variety of formats.

	Real Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
	Meditation the Buddhist Way by Jinananda.  Available as a CD/book.
	Mediatation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield.  Available as a DVD
	Art of Mindful Living by Thich Nhaat Hanh.  Available as a CD/Book, preloaded audiobook, and downloadable audiobook.
	Peace of Mind by Amy Dean. Available in both Kindle and EPUB format
	Creative Visualization Meditations by Shakti Gawain.  Available in both MP3 and WMA format.

Want more material?  We’ve got it! In addition to these more general titles, we also have resources on specific types of meditation, such as meditation for healing, or to to stop smoking.  Use “meditation” as a subject search in the library catalog to find more resources in the library. Or, call us at the reference desk at 541-766-6793.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

Image credit

circa 2001

I just celebrated my 10th anniversary at the library, and I am just amazed at how quickly the time has flown. Not too long after I started here we launched the CBCPL Book Club and it has been fun to look back on all the books we have read.

And now you can do just that, thanks to the tagging feature available in our New Catalog as well as the most awesome library volunteer who patiently and quickly used this feature to tag

all 99 of of these titles.

Now if you do a search for the words cbcpl book club, you will come up with a list of all of the titles we have read. This because each of these titles has been labeled or tagged with the the phrase “cbcpl book club”.

Want to create your own tags? Here is how to do it:

1. Go to the New Catalog and do a search

2.

3.

4. Log in

5.

Posted by Sharon, a Second Floor Librarian

Hannah’s picks:

	The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich.  Also available as a downloadable audiobook from Library2Go.
	Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams

Laurie’s picks:

	Budapest : a novel by Chico Buarque
	My Antonia by Willa Cather.  Also available on CD and as a downloadable audiobook from Library2Go!

Laurel’s picks:

	Sources of the River by Jack Nisbet
	Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.  Also available as a downloadable audiobook from Library2Go.!

Sara’s picks:

	The Passage by Justin Cronin
	Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void  by Mary Roach.  Also available as a downloadable audiobook from Library2Go.

Monique’s picks:

	Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
	Bear and His Daughter by Robert Stone

Did you know that if you have a Corvallis-Benton County Public Library card you can check out materials from the library at OSU?  Read about OSU’s Community Patron Program for more information.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

If so, the record of your transaction has been lost, due to our computer failure that happened on Thursday, December 30th. This means that if you placed a hold, checked out an item, returned an item, paid a fine, got a library card, etc. we do not have a record of that transaction, if it happened on December 29th.

For details of what to do, please visit our page explaining what happened and what we’re doing to rectify the situation.

As always, we thank you for your patience as we wade through the fall-out of the server failure last week. We hope that 2011 can only get better from here on out.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Halloween Pumpkins by lobo235 on Flickr

So it’s Halloween on Sunday. I like Halloween, but I don’t like scary things. Horror books, movies? No thanks! Not for me. My favorite thing about Halloween is the smell of candle-warmed pumpkin – it brings back so many fun memories, but it sure isn’t spooky.

So for that reason, I can’t recommend any particular horror titles for you in this blog post. However, I can show you how to find horror titles yourself, using our new catalog.

Let’s start by searching the catalog with the very generic search term of horror. The neat thing about our new catalog is that it lets you narrow your search by choosing from facets on the right-hand side of the screen. So while the search for horror nets 1723 titles, you can easily narrow it down to a more manageable number.

You’ll see the first way you can narrow your search results is by format. If I just want horror DVDs, I can click on DVD and I go to a list of 154 results, as opposed to the 1723 that we had when we started.

From there I can narrow results by collection (see next image), which means which category of items in the library. You may want to choose juvenile DVDs (for kids), or adult DVDs (for adults).

If you ever want to remove a category that you narrowed your search by, just click the X next to it here:

Then, you can sort your results by date to get the newest items first.

I hope this helps you on your way to finding what you want (be it spooky or not) using our catalog! If you need more help, you can always ask us.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Carrie, another second floor librarian gave me a tip to avoid this situation.  Since it can be hard to predict when your hold for a popular new book will arrive, Carrie never bothers to put new books on hold, and instead puts the books she wants to read on a list linked to her library card.  Then, when she’s looking for a book to read, she checks her list against what’s currently checked in, and that’s what she reads next.  Since the list is linked to your card number, you won’t lose it like you would a scrap of paper.  You can create as many lists as you want in our new catalog (there is a link to the new catalog from the library website) I have one called “books to read,” but you might want to make one for your book club, or for DVDs or audio books, for example.  To learn how to create a list, stop by the reference desk and we’ll show you, or take a look at this how to video.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

Photo credit: Collecting books for readers in the reserve stacks, 1964 by LSE Library on Flickr

Here is a brief list of what I expect to be the big hits this Fall.  We do not have any of these titles yet but we do have them on order.  You can place holds in our online catalog.

Want more detailed instruction on how to place a hold?

Click Here

Best Sellers not your thing?  Check out our other great pages for readers:

Books

Lisa’s Good Nonfiction Reads Guide

Sharon’ Fiction Guide

Fall of Giants By Follett, Ken 2010-09 – Dutton Books 0525951652 Click here to check our catalog The first novel in The Century Trilogy follows the fates of five interrelated families–American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh–as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. …More

Wicked Appetite By Evanovich, Janet 2010-09 -St. Martin’s Press 0312652917 Click here to check our catalog The #1 “New York Times”-bestselling author is back with a brand-new series. Diesel, the man with unmentionable talents, leaves the world of Stephanie Plum for the North Shore of Boston, where he partners with pastry chef Lizzie Tucker to stop his criminal mastermind cousin, Gerewulf Grimorie, from intercepting a collection of priceless ancient relics representing the Seven Deadly Sins. …More

The Confession By Grisham, John 2010-10 – Doubleday Books 0385528043 Click here to check our catalog Grisham delivers his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. Filled with his trademark intriguing twists and turns, this newest novel proves that no one keeps readers in suspense like America’s favorite storyteller. …More

Mini Shopaholic By Kinsella, Sophie 2010-09 – Dial Press 9780385342049 Click here to check our catalog In the first Shopaholic in three years, Becky Brandon (ne Bloomwood) is back, this time hilariously challenged by the mini-terror who is her two-year-old daughter, Minnie. …More

Safe Haven By Sparks, Nicholas 2010-09 – Grand Central Publishing 9780446547598 Click here to check our catalog During an idyllic summer abroad, Renee falls in love with a handsome Italian, but the affair comes to an end when she returns to North Carolina and marries her college boyfriend. Two decades later, Renee drops everything to be with her dying best friend, Audrey, unaware that she still has a few surprises up her sleeve. …More

Legacy By Steel, Danielle 2010-09 – Delacorte Press 9780385343138 Click here to check our catalog This compelling, centuries-spanning work brilliantly interweaves the lives of two women–a writer working in the heart of modern academia and a daring young Sioux Indian on an incredible journey in the 18th century. The saga journeys from present-day Boston to the wilds of Dakota lands and the glittering palaces of Louis XVI. …More

My Lost Daughter By Rosenberg, Nancy Taylor 2010-09 – Forge 9780765319036 Click here to check our catalog After her daughter is hospitalized for mental evaluation, Lily Forrester, a tough judge, discovers the institution is far less interested in treating patients than it is with bilking the insurance companies out of extravagant fees. Lily’s daughter may not only be in danger of losing her sanity but her life. …More

A Nose for Justice By Brown, Rita Mae 2010-09 – Ballantine Books 9780345511812 Click here to check our catalog In this first novel of a brand-new series, a city girl, canine companion in tow, discovers the Wild West, a sinister plot to divert its most precious resource, and the binding ties of family. …More

Don’t Blink By Patterson, James 2010-09 – Little Brown and Company 9780316036238 Click here to check our catalog While conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy, reporter Nick Daniels accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. …More

Bad Blood By Sandford, John 2010-09 – Putnam Adult 9780399156908 Click here to check our catalog A young man hits a farmer on the head with a steel bar, drops him into the grain bin, waits until he’s sure he’s dead, and then calls the sheriff to report the “accident.” Virgil Flowers quickly breaks the kid down, and the next day the boy is found hanging in his cell, in this saga of multigeneration, multifamily monstrosities. …More

Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel By Penny, Louise 2010-09 – Minotaur Books 9780312377045 Click here to check our catalog Chief Inspector Gamache receives a letter from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. The letter proclaims Olivier’s innocence, so Gamache must relive the terrible events that killed one of his men before he can bury the dead. …More

The Charming Quirks of Others By McCall Smith, Alexander 2010-10 – Pantheon Books 9780307379177 Click here to check our catalog A couple who are old friends of Isabel’s ask for her help in a rather tricky situation: A successor is being sought for the headmaster position at their alma mater, and one of the finalists has a very serious skeleton in the closet. Could Isabel discreetly look into it? …More

American Assassin By Flynn, Vince 2010-10 – Atria Books 9781416595182 Click here to check our catalog In the latest novel by the #1 “New York Times”-bestselling author of “Protectand Defend” and “Extreme Measures,” Mitch Rapp takes on his first, explosivecounter-terrorism assignment. …More

Chasing the Night By Johansen, Iris 2010-10 – St. Martin’s Press 9780312651190 Click here to check our catalog Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is drawn into the mystery of a child that had been abducted eight years earlier, and must use her skills with age progression as a way to reunite mother and son. But Eve must face looming demons of her own, in this latest thriller by #1 “New York Times”-bestselling author Johansen. …More

The Reversal By Connelly, Michael 2010-10 – Little Brown and Company 9780316069489 Click here to check our catalog Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. Together Haller and LAPD Detective Harry Bosch set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. …More

Worth Dying for: A Reacher Novel By Child, Lee 2010-10 – Delacorte Press 9780385344319 Click here to check our catalog There’s deadly trouble in the corn country of Nebraska . . . and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he runs afoul of a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing child, already decades old, that Reacher can’t let go of, in this follow-up to the “New York Times” bestseller “61 Hours.” …More

The Brave By Evans, Nicholas 2010-10 – Little Brown and Company 9780316033787 Click here to check our catalog Powerfully written and intensely moving, “The Brave” traces the legacy of violence behind the myth of the American West and explores man’s quest for love and identity, the fallibility of heroes, and the devastating effects of family secrets. …More

Our Kind of Traitor By Le Carre, John 2010-10 – Viking Books 9780670022243 Click here to check our catalog The unrivaled master of spy fiction returns with a taut and suspenseful novel of dirty money and dirtier politics. Perry and Gail are idealistic and very much in love when they splurge on a tennis vacation at a posh beach resort in Antigua. But the charm begins to pall when a big-time Russian money launderer enlists their help to defect. …More

Call Me Mrs. Miracle By Macomber, Debbie 2010-09 – Mira Books 9780778328193 Click here to check our catalog From a #1 “New York Times”-bestselling author. While working in the toy department of a family-run department store in New York City, Mrs. Miracle seizes the opportunity to connect Holly, who is searching for the perfect robot for her nephew, with Jake, the store owner’s son. …More

Christmas Mourning By Maron, Margaret 2010-11 – Grand Central Publishing 9780446555807 Click here to check our catalog A community is devastated after a cheerleader dies in a car crash. Sheriff’s Deputy Dwight Bryant soon learns that her death was not a simple accident, and more lives may be lost unless he and Judge Deborah Knott can discover why she died. …More

Posted by Sharon, a Second Floor Librarian

Card Catalog? by OSU Archives, on Flickr

This is a follow-up post to an earlier one I wrote a few weeks ago.

Some of our readers suggested a post explaining how to limit the search to a certain format, so that they can see what’s available as a Playaway, for example.

Hopefully after reading this post, you’ll be able to limit your search to the type of format you’re interested in.

So let’s say you’re interested in Playaways or large print books, or video games. The Set Limits box on the search screen is your friend.

When you click on Set Limits, a new window will pop up with your choices.

The Collection box is where you’ll want to look for the limiter that suits your needs. In the case of Playaways (a brand name), the catalog uses the term Pre-loaded Audio. Select that, click OK, and your search will be limited to Playaways for adults (vs. Playaways for kids).

Once you click OK, it takes you back to the search screen. You’ll know limits are in effect because the Set Limits button has now changed to say Change Limits.

So, if you are looking to browse our holdings in a certain format, be warned that you will have a lot of titles to scroll through (hundreds and hundreds). So it’s good to narrow your search a bit. For example, are you interested in mysteries? Search mystery fiction as a keyword. Or biographies? Use the word biography. Just fiction? Use fiction.

Once you get your long list of results to scroll through, you might find it helpful to use our sorting options. These often get overlooked, but they’re really helpful.

I ran a search for mystery fiction with the limit set to Adult pre-loaded audio. This netted me 84 titles. You can then sort the results in different ways. If you choose to sort by Availability (circled in green), you will get items that are on the shelf and ready for check-out at the top of the list. This is a great option to use if you want something you can take home now.

Another option would be to sort by publication date. This would put the newest items to the top of the list.

I hope this helps clarify searching by format in our catalog. If it doesn’t, or there are other catalog questions you’d like to see addressed, leave us a comment! The sort of feedback we get determines what sort of posts we write. You might also want to check out Sharon’s post on using the catalog to see what new titles have arrived recently.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Card Catalog? by OSU Archives, on Flickr

A common complaint that we get at the desk on the second floor is about our catalog. People often say they aren’t able to find what they’re looking for.

Library catalogs are designed to, amongst other things, support fairly complicated searches by library staff. This can mean that the average user gets stymied.

So until the library world develops catalogs that are easier to use (if only we had the resources of Amazon or Google), here are some tricks to help you get what you want, faster.

It seems like a great deal of our library users are looking for a particular title or author when searching the catalog. If you know the exact title or author you are looking for, the easiest and fastest way to get there is through the magic of Starts With.

The default search in our catalog is Keyword. But if you click on the Starts With tab, you might have more luck when looking for a specific title.

Once you’ve clicked the Starts With tab, you’ll see the search screen gets simpler. Let’s say you want to find Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. (A great book, by the way, I’m reading it right now.)

Just enter Wolf Hall in the search box (capitalization doesn’t matter), and you’ll see that the listing you want comes right to the top.

Search:

Result:

You get this targeted result because using Starts With means that you’re searching the catalog alphabetically, kind of like with the old-school card catalog in the picture at the beginning of the post.

This works great with authors too, when you know exactly what you’re looking for. Say you want to see what other books Hilary Mantel has written. Stick with the Starts With search, but change it to Author instead of Title.

Make sure you enter the author last name first (commas or capitalization don’t matter), and you’re good to go. Hilary Mantel is right at the top of the results screen.

I hope this helps take some of the frustration out of searching our catalog.

If you’re interested in seeing more blog posts like this, I would be happy to do a series of posts on using the catalog. What sort of things do you have trouble finding? Leave a comment and I’ll write a post addressing your questions.

Of course, we’re always happy to give you search tips in person, on the phone, via chat or email. Just ask!