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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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?

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!