Selections

The newsletter of the Sarasota County Library System

~ November 2008 ~ Volume 3, Issue 7

Read Selections online each month or sign up here to have it delivered to you by email.
If you have difficulty reading the newsletter in your email, read this issue here.

In this Issue:

• National Library News
• Staff Picks
• Local Library News
• Featured Stories
• Community Connection
• Events
• Featured Internet Sites
• Featured Database
• Reference Questions
  of the Month
• Volunteer News
• Your Feedback

This month's issue is brought
to you
by the staff of Gulf Gate Library.

To read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one.
— Anonymous, Chinese saying

A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.
— Henry Ward Beecher

Find more quotations on libraries and librarians here.

Staff Picks:

Gulf Gate Library staff chose the
"Teens' Top 10" voted on by more than 8,000 teens across the country.

Local Library News:

Library Staff Development Day 2008 The eight libraries in the Sarasota County Library System were closed on Friday, October 24, but library staff were working. October 24 was United Nations Day, but for the libraries it was Staff Development Day, a full-day training session for all library employees held this year at Selby Library. “With a library system as large and diversified as the Sarasota County Library System, the most cost efficient way to train all library staff in the latest technologies for customer service is to bring them all together in one place,” said General Manager Sarabeth Kalajian. The keynote speaker for the day was Karen Hyman, executive director of the South Jersey Library Cooperative. Hyman, who develops services for 600 member libraries and administers QandANJ.org, a statewide, virtual reference service, presented a program entitled “The Customer Centered Library." Library staff participated in a variety of team building exercises and training sessions presented by local library professionals throughout the day, including "Introduction to Library 2.0," "Privacy / Confidentiality and the Library" and "New Technologies and Gadgets." Karen Hyman presenting the keynote. Do you see your library's staff?

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Featured Stories:

Local Artists Display Work at Gulf Gate Library Everyone is welcome to come view a new display of paintings at Gulf Gate Library from students in the Adult & Community Education Center (ACEC) art class. This month’s display is a beautiful collection of sunflowers done by various student artists in Mary Lou Ringers ACEC class. They are hanging in various rooms in the building and brighten up the whole library with color. We are very fortunate to have such quality work displayed in the library. For the past two years the library has partnered with ACEC classes to display a wonderful variety of artwork for public enjoyment. In the months ahead, we will display artwork from other classes in all media: painting, oils, acrylics and photography. We also exhibit nature printing from Heather Fortner’s class at Selby Gardens. This program has been great for both the library and the student artists. Some of them have never displayed their work publicly before and are very happy to have the opportunity to participate. And the library staff and patrons are the beneficiaries of such a rich variety of art. Thanks to the Adult and Community Education Center art classes for their contribution to our library!

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Community Connection:

Flu Season is Here Protect your family against the flu bug this year. Find medical advice and flu shot options at your local library, and follow the link below to find out when your local library is offering the shots. Who should get a flu shot? Everyone six months and older is encouraged to get a flu shot. To protect babies under six months of age who are too young for a flu shot, all members of their households need to be vaccinated. Flu shot providers: These Sarasota Flu and Pneumonia Coalition partner organizations are providing many flu shot opportunities: Maxim Healthcare Services, Optima Health Care, Sarasota Health Care, Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), Sarasota Memorial Health Care Systems, Nokomis Walk-In, Sarasota Immediate Care Walk-In and Sarasota Family Medical Walk-In clinics. Cost: The cost of a flu shot at these locations will be between $25 and $30. Pneumonia vaccine will be $45. Cash and check are accepted. If you have Medicare B, bring a copy of your card with you. Flu Shot Locations: sarasotahealth.org/spotlight/flu-shot-clinics.htm More Resources: The book Influenza: The Next Pandemic by Connie Goldsmith Prevention magazine, Harvard Health Letter and Health magazine  Influenza Documentary: www.youtube.com/user/cdcflu Online Resources: Sarasota County Health Department: www.sarasotahealth.org Centers for Disease Control: cdc.gov/flu

Upcoming Events at Gulf Gate Library Classic Move Star Series Enjoy movies featuring classic movie stars like Richard Burton, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Films are shown on Saturdays (Nov. 15, 22 and 29) at 1 p.m. Socrates Café The Gulf Gate Library presents a fresh taste of philosophy for people who like to discuss ideas. Led by Jim Chastain, the Socrates Café meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Gulf Gate Library Readers This book group is open to all and meets on the first Thursday of every month at 2 p.m. The next discussion is December 4, 2008, and the book is "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Umrigar. French Conversation Group Come practice speaking the romantic language of French. As a member of this weekly group, you will be able to practice your pronunciation and oral understanding by reading French articles and discussing them. An intermediate skill level in French is recommended. The group meets on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. until noon. Find more programs and classes for adults and children at Gulf Gate Library and all the other libraries on the library's website calendar. For more information on any of the programs above, please contact the Gulf Gate Library at 941-861-1230.

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Featured Internet Sites:

Special Days This month features websites for "special days"--not traditional holidays--but days you may want to celebrate all the same.* The Friday after Thanksgiving is Sinkie Day--Standing In Nutritious Kitchens Ingesting Everything. Read more at www.sinkie.com. Take Back Your Time Day is October 24. It's a "major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment. The official website is www.timeday.org. Pi Day is March 14, signifying both the first three digits of the number pi and Albert Einstein's birthday. Pi Day "promotes the celebration of mathematics education, the collective enjoyment of mathematics and the ageless, multicultural interest in pi." Learn more at www.mobot.org/education/megsl/pi.html. International Literacy Day occurs in early September. It "focuses attention on worldwide literacy issues and needs." Prepare to celebrate it next year by visiting www.reading.org/association/meetings/literacy_day.html. *All links were found on the Librarians' Internet Index by searching for "special days."

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Featured Database:

ReferenceUSA

To search for a business anywhere in the United States, ReferenceUSA is the online directory to use. Not only does the database list the business’ accurate name and contact information, but it also includes the business’ executive’s title, type of business, sales volume, employee size and year established. It also shows the family that the business is a part of – displaying all of its branches, subsidiaries and parent company. In the custom search mode, businesses can be found just by searching under brand names.  Any search results can be printed or downloaded in the Excel spreadsheet format. When details of an individual business are viewed, there are links to retrieve a map and driving directions. There is also a “radius” link which allows one to search for other businesses that are located near that business. For example, post offices within a certain mile radius of a business can be found easily. Be aware that businesses have to be listed in public telephone directories in order to be included in ReferenceUSA.

Find articles from magazines, newspapers, journals and other sources on the library website's Electronic Information
Resources page:
sclibs.net/resources.aspx.

A Sarasota County Library card is required to access databases from outside the library.

Read database descriptions from previous issues of Selections here and in the newsletter archives.

Reference Questions of the Month:

I'm in charge of making Thanksgiving dinner for my family this year, and I'm not sure what to fix or how to best cook a turkey. Does the library have any cookbooks just for Thanksgiving food?  Yes! Cookbooks (and even a couple of DVDs and a video) specifically for Thanksgiving may be found by searching the library catalog for the subject "Thanksgiving cookery." If you'd rather browse the shelves at your local library, start at call number 641.568 in the nonfiction section.

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Long ago, I read in my fourth grade history book that our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was an inventor. Is that true? If so, what did he invent? It's true! According to the World of Invention (REF 608 WOR), as a young man Lincoln devised a system to keep steamboats and other vessels from running aground on sandbars in rivers. His idea was patented under the title “Buoying Vessels over Shoals.” Perhaps as a result of his own experience as an inventor, Lincoln was a staunch supporter of the U.S. patent system and said it “added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery and production of new and useful things.” • If you are interested in reading more about Abraham Lincoln, look under "Lincoln" in the Biography section at your library. • To discover how to patent your own idea, look for Patent It Yourself in both the Nonfiction and Reference sections at call number 346.0486 PAT, and visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website at www.uspto.gov.

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Your Feedback:

Would you like to see your picks in a future issue of Selections (instead of "Staff Picks")? Email** your picks to librarywebmaster@scgov.net. (Please put "My Picks" in the subject.) Or send them through the "Your Comments" page of the library website, write "My Picks" in the message: http://sclibs.net/comments.aspx. Any pick is a good pick! Please choose books or DVDs that the library owns so other readers may check them out. If you include a comment about why you chose your pick, please give your first name or initials. "Staff Picks" becomes "Your Picks" as soon as at least eight are received. Send in your picks today!   ** Important Notice Regarding privacy and e-mail.SB 80 effective July 1, 2006: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead contact this office by phone or in writing.

Volunteer News:

Our School Year Volunteers Gulf Gate Library's teen volunteers are a great asset to us all year long although we have only a precious few who stay on after summer and into the academic year. During the time of year when patron counts swell and staffing can be short (at least of late), we value their services all the more. Here is a little light to shine on each:  Last summer Georgia Meagher, a ninth-grader at Riverview High School, moved here from Illinois with her mother and two dogs, Cricket and Kirby. She prefers Sarasota since “there was nothing to do in Macomb, and you have to drive an hour just to get to Target.” Georgia enjoys reading (especially fantasy), classical music, playing piano and singing in her school chorus. She admits with characteristic honesty that she’s “really bad at sports.” Georgia is a breath of fresh air, and we’re happy to have her here.  Brittany Buchanan is a sophomore in the IB program at Riverview. Because she is so quick to learn, she has been able to assist with some of our more advanced circulation tasks. Nonetheless, shelving (and enjoying looking through books while doing so) is her favorite volunteer job. She loves animals and music. It has been wonderful to be able to count on such a capable student.  Barbara Kelly, a sophomore at Pine View, is our one “old-timer” since she’s been a steady and reliable presence here for over a year. She goes about her shelving duties with cheerfulness, confidence, maturity and accuracy. Her intended major is psychology.  We were happy and surprised to have William Kulha come unexpectedly into the library this very week and state that he’d like to volunteer for 20 to 30 hours per week! He’s a senior at Riverview doing a dual program at MCC. The dual enrollment program doesn’t require community service for high school graduation so he is obviously internally-motivated to put this time into the library. A career in English as a Second Language, preferably in Japan, is of interest to him. A warm welcome to William!

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