RFID Installation Is Happening!

The Addison Public Library is moving to a system of tracking materials called Radio Frequency Identification or RFID. RFID is a fast, efficient way to track, locate, and manage library resources. RFID technology is used in many places such as airports, hospitals, and retail stores; it is also the technology behind the State Tollway I-Pass system.

Installation has begun! Several weeks ago the indoor-book-return modification was started. Now the new security gates are being installed, and the check out area of the self-check machines has been changed. The new indoor return slots will soon be ready for the new systems that go on the other side of the wall.

The sorting system is scheduled for installation at the end of February. It will take a minimum of 5 business days if all goes perfectly—and, when does that happen? To cut down on the number of returned items, no materials will be due during the time period set for that work. We REALLY encourage you to keep library materials while this installation is happening. With the circulation workroom closed to staff, we have to find a place to safely store any materials that are returned until they get checked in and back on the shelves.

Once the system is completed most items will be automatically checked in when they are dropped through the return slots inside the library, allowing library staff to be redirected to more customer-focused services. Once checked in, items will be sorted into bins by type and location getting materials back on the shelves much faster. A new portable device will help us track inventory of various collections, locate lost and missing items, and ensure that everything is in the proper order on the shelves.

We are very excited about these changes that will improve our service.

Please bear with us as we transition to the new RFID system.

Make your own Hogwarts acceptance letter!

Ever dream of attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Well the wait is over because now you can be the proud owner of your very own Hogwarts acceptance letter from Headmistress Minerva McGonagall herself! You can make one yourself or purchase one online.

Which house would you want the Sorting Hat to place you in? Which professor is your favorite? Do you think you would be good at quidditch?

Can’t Get Enough of Downton Abbey?

Who doesn’t have Downton Abbey fever right now? It won four Emmys in 2011 and recently won Best Mini Series at the Golden Globes. It’s in the middle of its second season with the third season already being planned.

Trying to figure out how to feed the Downton Abbey obsession once the last episode is aired February 19th? The New York Times put together a recommended reading list. Addison librarians have also put together a list of great reads that take place in the 1920s. It may be a couple years ahead of Downton Abbey season 2, but they’ll be there next season. And don’t forget to stop by the Adult Services desk on the 2nd floor for more suggestions. You can even fill out a form online for a personal recommendation if you don’t have time to stop by!

You can also watch new episodes of Downton Abbey online or check out season one from the library!

I am getting excited just thinking about the next episode…. will Mary and Matthew ever be together? What is the next evil thing Edith will do? And will Daisy really get sucked into a marriage with someone she doesn’t love? Most importantly, isn’t that Irish chauffeur handsome? Sybil would be crazy not to run off with him.

The Power of the Blackout

Did you notice that some of your favorite websites went dark on 1/18/12? Google blacked out its logo, while Wikipedia and Craigslist took the dramatic approach and blocked usage of their entire websites. The blackout occurred in protest of two bills: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Both bills focused on ending online copyright infringement (i.e. downloading media illegally), but the proposed enforcement of the bills (such as the government shutting down any website that is linked in any way, regardless of intent, to a sharing website) was heavily flawed.  This sparked enormous criticism from the online community, and two days after the blackout, both bills were killed in Congress.

iBooks 2, iPad and eTextbooks

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=tech/2012/01/20/ns-apple-ibook-review.cnn

Apple iPad iBooks 2 e-textbook

Apple launched a free iBooks 2 app for the iPad yesterday. It brings interactive textbooks to the popular tablet computer.

According to Apple, most of the high school textbooks in its iBookstore will cost $14.99 or less. This price is far cheaper than the current prices for print textbooks.

According to Forrester Research, electronic textbooks currently account for only 2.8 percent of the $8 billion US textbook market. Do you think it will rapidly grow from now on?

For CNN’s Apple iBook Review, please click here.

2012 Shape of Addison Town Hall Meeting

The 5th annual Shape of Addison Town Hall Meeting will be held on January 25th in the Village Hall Board Room at 1 Friendship Plaza in Addison at 7:00 p.m.  Board Presidents and Administrators from all of Addison’s taxing bodies will share information and answer questions from residents.  This is a great opportunity for residents to learn more about how their taxes are being used locally, to share ideas, express concerns and meet with the elected officials and administrators who serve the community.  In addition to the Library, other participating agencies include the Village of Addison, Addison School District  4, DuPage High School District 88, the Addison Fire Protection District, the Addison Police Department, and the Addison Park District.  The meeting will be aired live on ACTV.  You can submit your questions for any of the taxing bodies in person, you can call in during the live broadcast (the number to call will be announced that night and displayed on screen for TV viewers), or email your questions to  ShapeofAddison@AddisonAdvantage.org .  Addison Community Television airs on Comcast Cable Channel 6, AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 and is streamed live here.

Why I Love Jane Austen

I had my first taste of Jane Austen when I was sixteen. Believe it or not, I didn’t read her in class (shocking!). I actually was sick and had stayed home from school. My mom rented, “Sense and Sensibility” and I popped it into the VCR. I was running a low grade fever and should have been sleeping, but I couldn’t take my eyes of the screen.  Watching the love affairs unfold between Marianne Dashwood (Kate Winslett) and John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and between Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) and Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant), my attention was rapt and my obsession with Jane Austen ignited.  I watched this film over and over–what was it that I loved so much?  The plot was intricate and the lead female characters were strong and intelligent without being masculine.  The early 19th century costumes were also gorgeous and the English countryside beautiful, but what really captured my attention was the language.  The language knocks my socks off.  “It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.” -Sense and Sensibility

I couldn’t get enough of the language.  I found myself trying to speak that way (much to the delight of my friends).  I wasn’t sure what some of the sentences even meant, but I was convinced that every line was important.  I visited the library and checked out everything Jane Austen (novels and films–the BBC loves to adapt Jane Austen).  To this day (especially when I am feeling under the weather) I’ll watch an adaptation to relax me.

If you are as consumed with Jane as I am, or if you have never read a single page of hers, the library has an abundance of her novels and films available for check out.  My favorite, of course, is “Sense and Sensibility”.  What’s yours?

 

 

Which Web Browser Are You Using?

Source: By Peter Bright |ARS Technica

There Is Nothing Like a Book!

This is a wonderful video which all book lovers should appreciate!

This amazing stop-motion animation is the creation of talented people from Toronto’s Type Books. It shows the shelves mysteriously and mischievously reorganizing themselves after everyone has gone.

Do you think this happens in libraries as well?

Winter’s Coming!

The days of 50 degrees are almost behind us. Winter is coming this weekend! With the highs only in the 20s and snow expected, what better time to find a good book to curl up with? For me, nothing like a good bleak dystopian novel to remind me that 20 degrees and snow isn’t such a bad life.

Like something a little more optimistic?

• Check out our e-newsletters
• Call the library for some great suggestions! (630) 543-3617
• Like books set in Ireland? Slueths? Cats? Hot climates? Look at some of these suggestions.
• Want a personal recommendation? One of our trained librarians will create a list for you. Just fill out this form so we know what you like!