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!

*Image credit below

As many of you know because you were there scooping up bargains, the Friends’ Big Book Sale was the last weekend in February.  What a whopping success with a record $37,000 earned!  It was the first book sale where folks could use their debit and credit cards and about 17% of the sales came from plastic.

Dozens of volunteers pitched in to make it happen.  There were 30 ROTC cadets as well as Youth Volunteer Corps and College Hill School helpers, plus the throng of regulars.
A Friend talked to a lady from Montana at the sale.  Apparently, the lady’s family plans their reunion every year to coincide with the book sale.  She comes from Montana and her sister comes down from Seattle. Our book sale is a destination vacation!

So if you missed it this year, come next year.  Read the blog to track the smaller sales throughout the year.  (To be sure you don’t miss a post, sign up to get the blog via email (top right of this page), or subscribe to our RSS feed.) You can always buy some reading material between sales in the Friends’ area here at the Corvallis Library or the Philomath Library.

In a little while, the Friends will begin accepting donations again. They have scored a new storage area on Wake Robin.  If you are sorting books as part of your spring cleaning, hold those items.  You will soon be able to bring them to the main library and leave them for the Friends.

We invite you to be a friend of our Friends.

Posted by Amy, a second floor librarian

*Image credit: AQS Collector Books “hurt” book sale by circulating, on Flickr

http://www.thebestlibrary.net/joomla/content/view/212/165/

You can also sign up to receive this list via email and RSS.  To sign up to receive our staff picks each month click on the following link and follow the instructions on the page.

http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/addnluser.html?sid=6680

In addition to our Staff Picks, you can sign up to receive other lists such as the NYT Bestsellers, New DVDs in the Library as well as our bimonthly newsletter, Check It Out.

Sign up for as many lists as you like and unsubscribe at any time.  It is a nice way to keep in touch with us as well as find great things at the library.

Posted by Sharon, a Second Floor Librarian

*See below for image credit

That is a awfully cheesy title for the post – I apologize. But it’s true! The annual model train show will be at the library next weekend.

This free event is presented by the Oregon O-Gaugers Train Club. The O-Gaugers will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items for the Linn Benton Food Share.

This event is an annual favorite of kids and grown-ups alike. You can check out the trains and model railroads in the Main Meeting Room at the Library on Saturday, March 13th from 10:00 – 6:00 and on Sunday, March 14th from 12:00 – 5:00.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

*Image credit:  09 TN State Fair #30: Model Trains by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent), on Flickr

Faces of America

This program shared personal genealogies of prominent people as catalysts to explore the history of the United States.  I found it fascinating and it made me want to jump back into tracing the genealogy of my own family.

If you are interested in exploring your own genealogy we have a great website with links to premier genealogical databases like Ancestry (available in the library only) and HeritageQuest (available at home and at the library).  These databases are available free with your library card.

Christopher’s Genealogy Page

If you prefer to get started with a book, Christopher, another Second Floor Librarian recommends the following titles available at our library:

And if you want to explore more works on genealogy and the lives of individual Americans by  Henry Louis Gates Jr., check out the following titles:

Posted by Sharon, a Second Floor Librarian

• Friday, Feb. 26th, 5 pm – 9 pm
• Saturday, Feb. 27th, 10 am – 5 pm
• Sunday, Feb. 28th, 11 am – 4 pm

All of the proceeds from the sale go to support your library. Just one more good excuse to go stock up on great used books, music, and more!

Update (2/23): Just heard from the Friends of the Library that on Sunday, a whole box of books will go for just $5.00!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

AFC Bournemouth – Fans 3 by Lucy Boynton on flickr

…We hope you are because there is a lot to be excited about! Library2Go will be the home of our ebooks.

If you want to hit the ground running when library ebooks premier (probably mid-March) you should download Adobe Digital Editions now and check out how it works. What else is exciting? How about over 5000 ebook titles being available on the very first day!

If you don’t plan to do your reading strictly on a computer, here is a page showing which ereader devices are compatible with Library2Go. Likely even more ereaders will work with this service as long as they are Adobe Digital Editions compatible (check here for other possible ereader devices) .

The majority of our ebook titles will be available in ePub format, although some will be in PDF. The file size for the ePub titles is tiny, so they will download in a snap. The PDFs are a bit larger, but they can better handle images, charts, graphs and the like. Check out our ebooks LibGuide for more info as we get closer to the launch.

Posted by Christopher, a second floor librarian

The eighth annual Tcha Tee Man Wi Storytelling Festival, with public performances February 18-21, promises another weekend of both traditional and unique entertainment and workshops for adults, and matinees for children. Most events workshops are in Corvallis, and free.

This year’s featured Tellers include internationally acclaimed professionals.

Joel ben Izzy began his professional career after graduating from Stanford with a degree in English, Creative Writing and Storytelling. He has travelled the world, gathering and telling stories.

His work as a story consultant has him coaching and teaching storyskills to folks in fields ranging from film to high-tech, from banking to advertising, from medicine to law. Clients include Hewlett Packard, Pixar Animation Studios, Kaiser Permanante, Wachovia Bank, The California Attorney General, and The United States Attorney’s Office. Some of his stories and style draw from his rich Jewish heritage. His recordings have won Parents’ Choice Gold Award and numerous other awards, and are available at the Corvallis Benton County Public Library.

Regi Carpenter has been featured at schools, libraries, museums, festivals, and family and community venues. She is at home with both children and adults and offers storytelling programs, workshops, and school residencies. A New York State certified teacher, Regi is adept at weaving the arts into the curriculum while fulfilling teaching standards. As nationally acclaimed performer and educator, Regi has received the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award, and the Leonard Bernstein Fellowship for Artists in Education. She uses the art of storytelling with cancer patients and their families. Her recordings for children are available at the Corvallis Benton County Public Library, adult recordings can be ordered.

Anne Penfound is active in the Portland Storytellers’ Guild. She says “Smell the delicious spices from the island of Barbados where I spent my early childhood. Imagine the call of the wild Haggis in the hills of Scotland where I brought up my own children – combine them together, add a folktale or two, stir in a tall tale, sprinkle with a dash of fun and you have the recipe for my storytelling in a nutshell.”

The schedule includes storytelling performances, workshops, children’s matinees, and an open mic for aspiring storytellers. Special performances are offered in area schools during the week leading up to the Festival. “Stories to Inspire” are offered on Sunday morning.

For those who enjoy stories with added color, there’s the adults-only, late-late night, Bawdy Tales. Each year, the event has gotten better, delighting the sell-out crowd with raucous, wild, funny, and shocking tales, lyrics, and theatrical pieces. Join in Saturday evening 10 pm – midnight. The doors open at 9:30 pm. The event will be held at Aurora Martial Arts located at 2525 SE 3rd Street. Aurora Martial Arts is south of town, on the east side of 3rd Street, between The Auction yard and New Holland Tractors. Proceeds help fund the whole festival. Advance tickets are available at Grass Roots Bookstore and at Corvallis Parks and Recreation – the event sells out.

Leading up to the festival, the public is invited to submit true stories about personal experiences with the Willamette River. What has happened on, in, or by our river or the rivers and streams that flow into it. Please send in your story – of NO MORE than 250-300 words – with permission to share it on the web, in print, or aloud. Do tell! Send to tchateemanwi@gmail.com or news@gazettetimes.com .

The Tcha Tee Man Wi Storytelling Festival is presented annually by The Arts Center, the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, Corvallis Parks and Recreation, and Wonderkeepers: A Storytelling Guild. Local sponsors help to keep the festival of the highest quality and free. To become a sponsor, and for more information and the full schedule, visit their website at or call 541-766-6794.

Posted by Sharon, a Second Floor Librarian

Modeled on the popular Socrates Cafés, Spring Creek Cafés invite people to come together in an informal setting to participate in thoughtful, guided discussion on topics of deep human importance.

Philosophers Michael Nelson and Kathleen Dean Moore invite everyone to be part of a lively, thought-provoking discussion. The program, first in a new series of Spring Creek Cafés, is free and open to all.  The event will be filmed as a pilot for a nationwide series of town hall meetings about the ethical urgency of climate change.

We’re excited to be hosting this great event at the library. For more information, contact Spring Creek at 541-737-6198. More details can also be found at the library’s literary events page.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Stockholm Public Library, by elmindreda on Flickr

A while back, we had a nice exchange with one of our Twitter friends, John Bergquist (@johnflurry). He posted a link to a Huffington Post article with pictures of amazing libraries around the world. Readers have been voting on their favorites, and at the moment, the top library is the Long Room in the Trinity College Library in Dublin.

John suggested it would be interesting to do a blog post about what appealed to people about these libraries.

I’d like to turn the question over to you. What do you like about these libraries, or the more modest variety here in Corvallis? What do you not like in a library building?

I always find it interesting that in a time where more and more information is online, the discussion of library as a physical place hasn’t died; in fact, it’s growing. Our patrons can (and do) connect with our library virtually in a whole number of ways, yet we find that foot traffic at the library is only increasing.

What I love about these beautiful libraries is that they remind us of all of the great things that libraries represent in our cultural history, or they illustrate all the possibilities that libraries represent for our future. They are spaces for dreaming and learning, and I think these amazing buildings  honor the idea of libraries and all they represent.

There is a short (3 min.) video online that is fun viewing if you’re into library design. It’s a clip from a BBC architecture show called Dreamspaces, and it highlights innovative new public library buildings in France and England. Take a look!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian