The dates are:

• Wednesday, April 20th, 5:00 – 6:00
• Thursday, April 21st, 4:00 – 5:00
• Friday, April 22nd, 11:00 – noon
• Saturday, April 23rd, 2:00 – 3:00

The demo sessions will be held in a small conference room at the southeast corner of the second floor. These events will be informal and driven by your needs.

We will have different ebook readers available for you to look at and try. You will also be able to bring your own ereading gadgets and ask questions about how they work with Library2Go. Librarians will also demonstrate the process of downloading ebooks and answer any other questions you may have.

So if you’ve always wondered about ebooks and ereaders, here’s an occasion for you come learn more! Of course, we are always available to answer any e-reading questions you may have. Just ask!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Photo credit: Onyx eBook Reader, by knuton on Flickr

Mr. Marlantes’ work has been highly praised, eliciting this review from Mark Bowden of the Philadelphia Enquirer:

There has never been a more realistic portrait of or eloquent tribute to the nobility of men under fire…. Marlantes’ story is so intense that there were times reading it when I thought I could not stand to turn the page…. Vladimir Nabokov once said that the greatest books are those you read not just with your heart or your mind, but with your spine. This is one for the spine.

Read on to find out about the variety of May events featuring Mr. Marlantes…

Random Review, presented by Pete Sandrock & Dave Famous

Wednesday, May 11th
Noon to 1:00 pm

Pete Sandrock, the former District Attorney for Benton County, and Dave Famous, Captain of the Professional Standards Division of the Portland Police Bureau, will be presenting the Random Review for May on Matterhorn. Bring your lunch and hear their thoughts on the book. Both men served in Vietnam.

Thursday, May 12th
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Hear Corvallis’ own Oregon Book Award-winning author Tracy Daugherty interview Karl Marlantes about the writing and publishing process. There will also be some time at the end for audience questions.

Come early to guarantee a seat! Doors will open at 1 pm and once the seats are filled, we will have to close the doors. Seating for this event will be first-come, first-served.

Buy a book! The OSU Bookstore will be on hand to sell books at this event. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

Thursday, May 12th
7:00 pm

Hear Karl Marlantes read from Matterhorn and share his thoughts.

Come early to guarantee a seat! Doors will open at 6 pm and once the seats are filled, we will have to close the doors. Seating for this event will be first-come, first-served.

Buy a book! The OSU Bookstore will be on hand to sell books at this event. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

I have been moved, often to tears, with the power of literature to heal, to reach the dark places where we hide pain or shame. I’ve seen literature bring to light the previously unmentionable. I had no idea of this power until I went on tour to talk about my novel of the Vietnam War, Matterhorn.

It is a moving article, and you can read the whole thing here. We are excited to have the honor of hosting Mr. Marlantes, and we are looking forward to seeing you at the events!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

One reading features local authors nominated for the Oregon Book Awards, and the next evening, we have a reading by poets published in a local poetry journal published by Cloudbank Books.

Read on for details…

Local Oregon Book Award Nominees

Thursday, April 21st, 7:00 PM

Four Corvallis-area OBA nominees will read from their nominated works. We have the pleasure of welcoming these wonderful authors to our library:

• Kathleen Dean Moore, nominated for Wild Comfort
• Paul VanDevelder, nominated for Savages and Scoundrels
• Poet Jennifer Richter (author of Threshold), nominated for a literary fellowship
• Lisa Ohlen Harris, nominated for Through the Veil

Cloudbank Books Reading

Friday, April 22nd, 7:00 PM

This great event will feature readings by poets featured in the Cloudbank poetry journal. The poets include Lex Runciman, Colette Tennant, Doug Stone, Larina Warnock, Cecilia Hagan, Chris Anderson, Ann Staley, Karen Holmberg, Amy Miller, and Steven Dieffenbacher.

• Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Photo credit: Flower book by MGShelton on Flickr

Taxes by John-Morgan on Flickr

Well April rolled in yesterday, and that means Tax Day (April 18th this year) is quickly approaching. If you are a bit of a procrastinator (you know who you are) and haven’t started your taxes yet, this post is for you!

Here is a recap what the library has (and doesn’t have) at tax time.

What we do have:

• The AARP’s Tax Aide service – get your taxes prepared and e-filed for free! This happens on a first-come, first-served basis at the Corvallis Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00-3:00. There are additional locations (some with appointment service) in Corvallis and Philomath. You can find all of those details on our Tax Info page.
• Reproducible IRS forms (i.e. forms you can photocopy)
• Computers where you can print out forms for 10 cents per page
• Links to commonly-used IRS and state forms and instructions on our Tax Info page

What we do not have:

• Federal (IRS)  printed instruction booklets and forms to take away
• State (Oregon) printed instruction booklets and forms to take away

If you have questions about what the library has to help you at tax time, just ask!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

But Library2Go now has a new help feature that will get you started on finding out the basics for using Library2Go with your particular gadget. If you want to know the basics for Library2Go and your device, this is a good place to start.

You can find this new help feature on the left-hand side of the Library2Go website. Click on the My Help logo to get started.

First choose what sort of media type you are interested in accessing, and then choose the device you are using.

After that you will be given a customized set of steps to get you started using Library2Go e-media on your device. Let us know what you think about the new My Help feature! We hope you find it useful.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

The event will be held in the Main Meeting Room at the library, and Grass Roots Books will be there to sell books. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

From the OSU Press:

“There is an otherness to the high desert, something momentous and sacred in the purtiy of the silence. In this compelling collection of personal essays, award-winning poet and author Ellen Waterston illuminates the people, places, and landscape of Central Oregon’s vast high desert.

In Where The Crooked River Rises, Waterston reveals the blessings and challenges of decades spent as a rancher and town resident in a place that has been, and remains, her touchstone and crucible. The high desert is Waterston’s teacher, and she describes its lessons with grace and care, inviting readers to look at their own lives through a lens of wide-open spaces, sagebrush and juniper, pumice and rabbit brush.”

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

The dates are:

• Wednesday, March 9th, 5:00 – 6:00
• Thursday, March 10th, 6:00 – 7:00
• Friday, March 11th, 11:00 – noon
• Saturday, March 12th, 2:00 – 4:00

The demo sessions will be held in a small conference room at the southeast corner of the second floor. These events will be informal and driven by your needs.

We will have different ebook readers available for you to look at and try. You will also be able to bring your own ereading gadgets and ask questions about how they work with Library2Go. Librarians will also demonstrate the process of downloading ebooks and answer any other questions you may have.

So if you’ve always wondered about ebooks and ereaders, here’s an occasion for you come learn more! Of course, we are always available to answer any e-reading questions you may have. Just ask!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Photo credit: Onyx eBook Reader, by knuton on Flickr

Come to the Main Meeting Room in the library on Friday, March 25th 10 am – 6 pm, and on Saturday, March 26th from 10 am – 5 pm.

Please note that The City newsletter incorrectly listed the dates for this event. As the library is closed on Sundays, there will be no train show here on Sunday, March 27th.

The show is presented by the Oregon O Gaugers Train Club, and is cosponsored by the library. Donations of non-perishable food will be gratefully accepted on behalf of the Linn Benton Food Share.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Photo credit: LGB Model Train Display, by Snap Man on Flickr

There already is an app to get library ebooks on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

You may also load library ebooks onto your iPad using a third-party app called Bluefire Reader.

However, this latest release is an app developed specifically for the iPad, and released specifically for use with Library2Go ebooks.

At the same time, the app for the iPhone/iPod Touch has been updated. It now supports both portrait and landscape orientation, and also displays a calendar icon, indicating how long you have left before each of your checkouts expire. If you already have this app installed, you will be notified that an update is available.

So, to recap…

Download ebooks and mp3 audiobooks from Library2Go onto your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, using the OverDrive Media Console app available in the App Store. You’ll need to be running iOS 4 (or newer) to install this app.

Phew! If you have any questions at all about Library2Go ebooks, the gadgets that work with them, or for help troubleshooting, just ask us. We are happy to talk you through it. You can visit us at the 2nd floor reference desk of the library (hours), call us at 541-766-6793, send us an email at askalibrarian@ci.corvallis.or.us, or chat with us online.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Matterhorn was included in the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2010. Karl Marlantes grew up in Seaside, OR, and now lives in Washington State. Here is what Sebastian Junger says about Matterhorn in his New York Times review:

According to the publisher, Marlantes ­— a highly decorated Vietnam vet — spent 30 years writing this book. It was originally 1,600 pages long; now it is 600. Reading his account of the bloody folly surrounding the Matterhorn outpost, you get the feeling Marlantes is not overly worried about the attention span of his readers; you get the feeling he was not desperate or impatient to be published. Rather, he seems like a man whose life was radically altered by war, and who now wants to pass along the favor. And with a desperate fury, he does. Chapter after chapter, battle after battle, Marlantes pushes you through what may be one of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam — or any war. It’s not a book so much as a deployment, and you will not return unaltered.

Here are the Matterhorn-related events happening at the library in May:

Wednesday, May 11th
Noon to 1:00 pm

Pete Sandrock, the former District Attorney for Benton County, and Dave Famous, Captain of the Professional Standards Division of the Portland Police Bureau, will be presenting the Random Review for May on Matterhorn. Bring your lunch and hear their thoughts on the book. Both men served in Vietnam.

Thursday, May 12th
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Hear Corvallis’ own Oregon Book Award-winning author Tracy Daugherty interview Karl Marlantes about the writing and publishing process. There will also be some time at the end for audience questions.

Come early to guarantee a seat! Doors will open at 1 pm and once the seats are filled, we will have to close the doors. Seating for this event will be first-come, first-served.

Buy a book! The OSU Bookstore will be on hand to sell books at this event. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

Thursday, May 12th
7:00 pm

Hear Karl Marlantes read from Matterhorn and share his thoughts.

Come early to guarantee a seat! Doors will open at 6 pm and once the seats are filled, we will have to close the doors. Seating for this event will be first-come, first-served.

Buy a book! The OSU Bookstore will be on hand to sell books at this event. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian